Taken
by CheyWolfe
Summary: After a fight with Soubi, Ritsuka wakes up, finding that he has been kidnapped. He believes that Soubi probably doesn't care at all, and gives up hope as he realizes who his captor is. Meanwhile, Soubi will find him no matter what, even if he needs help.
1. Day 001

**Day 001**

"Nng…" Ritsuka moved his body, attempting to roll onto his side. Soreness took over his senses of feeling, deeming him unable to do so. He fought to open his eyes, to resurface to consciousness. His eyes were crusted over, everything around him was cold, he was sore, his mouth was dry, and wherever the hell he was, he'd been there for days.

Ritsuka groaned again and tried to find something solid to sit up against. He kicked out one of his feet, finding out that, one, he still had his sneakers on, and that there was a stone wall behind him. He gave it another good kick and then scooted himself back towards it.

He licked his lips, trying to give himself some sort of wetness in his extremely dry mouth. He was hungry and thirsty, but most of all, confused. Who brought him here? Why? The sound of chains moving sounded above his head made Ritsuka come to the knowledge that one of his wrists was chained to the stonewall.

Ritsuka's spine hit the wall, causing more pain to spark up. _My spine is probably broken in a couple places._ Funny. That had been the first thought to go through his mind since 'waking up'. He hauled himself up into a sitting position, biting his lip to keep from yelling out. He raised his free hand and rubbed at his eyes. He was almost certain that they were completely bloodshot. His eyes dilated and adjusted to the almost completely dark atmosphere.

The first thing Ritsuka was able to pick out was the glint of the heavy chain connected to the wall. He thrust out his right arm and felt the chain jerk and rattle. Tears welled in Ritsuka's eyes as the realization hit him that he was trapped. He looked down at himself. His clothes were torn and bloodied. There was dirt all over him and his hair was un-brushed and all over the place. He was a mess. At least he could see Soubi's coat thrown off to the side, a little dirty, but intact.

His coat… Ritsuka's mind flashed back to a couple nights before. Soubi… Oh God, Soubi…

_"Ritsuka," Soubi purred as he laid down next to him. "I'm sorry the heat's off." He nuzzled a kiss onto Ritsuka's neck. Ritsuka shivered as Soubi's fingers danced across the skin reveled by the unbuttoned part of Ritsuka's shirt. Soubi smiled mischievously and leaned over him, his long hair draping down to brush Ritsuka's face. "Are you cold?"_

_ Ritsuka laughed and fingered the other man's collar. He had just turned thirteen and his hormones were already starting to act up. "How did you convince me to stay here for the night, anyways?" Ritsuka had somehow found himself agreeing to stay in Soubi's overly-cold apartment. _

_ Soubi glanced away from him for a second, "I feel better about you being here than you being there." _

_ Ritsuka put his hand on his face; wanting to, for once, comfort Soubi's anxiety about Ritsuka still living at his mother's house. "Stop worrying about me so much. And yes, I am a little cold, so no unbuttoning my shirt, pervert."_

_ "I am not a pervert, Ritsuka," Soubi lay back down next to Ritsuka. "I love you," He said nipping at his neck again. _

_ "Hmm, let's go to bed, I'm tired," He closed his eyes, and shivered again._

_ "Do you want me to go sleep on the-?"_

_ "No," Ritsuka grabbed his wrist before he could move. "Stay." Ritsuka blushed, trying to come up with a good excuse as to why he wanted Soubi to stay. "I-I'll get cold without you."_

_ Despite the blankets and Soubi's warmth beside him, Ritsuka still woke up in the middle of the night freezing. Soubi had apparently noticed because Ritsuka had woken up with one of his heavy furry coats wrapped around him. He had found a note on the nightstand._

_**Dear Ritsuka,**_

_** I'm sorry I had to leave. I had classes this morning. Don't wait for me; just go home before your mother notices you're gone. Call me if she does anything to you. I'll see you later tonight; I promise I'll be over by eleven. Keep my coat, its cold out today.**_

_** Love,**_

_** Soubi**_

_ What happened after that? _Ritsuka thought frantically, searching his memory. What had happened? Who had he been kidnapped by? Why was he trapped in- well, wherever the hell he was trapped at?

Ritsuka could see more, now that his eyes were adjusted. It looked like he was in a basement, up against the back wall. What was that by him? Was that… a body?  
Ritsuka shrieked, eyeing the shape on the floor. Yeah, that was definitely a body, and next to that, a skeleton. Either Ritsuka was insane or somebody was planning to murder him. Ritsuka was seriously hoping that he was insane.

He breathed heavily, staring up at the ceiling and at the unlit light bulb. He wanted to sob, to cry like he never had before.

Had it been his mother? Sure, she would beat the hell out of him almost everyday but she would never go this far. There was that time that she tied him to the chair but that was nothing like this.

His father? He wasn't crazy; just a drunk lawyer that never came home. Ritsuka barely even knew him. His father had no reason to kidnap him.

Soubi? No. That was impossible. That was totally out of the question. Soubi would never hurt him. Never.

Seimei? He was alive and operating as Ritsuka and Soubi recently found out. And as much as Ritsuka hated to admit it, his older brother was the one who probably did this.

Pushing the thoughts of his brother out of his head, Ritsuka looked at the coat, which was just out-of-reach. Flattening himself to the ground, he went out as the chain would allow. Of course, it was just beyond his fingertips. Thinking quickly, Ritsuka kicked out his foot, hooking the hood of the coat and bringing it to him.

It was starting to come back to Ritsuka as he escaped what he assumed to be his haze and held Soubi's jacket close to his heart. Tears started to fall freely as he remembered what had happened when Soubi had come over later that night. He had been so harsh… Why had he said those horrible things? Soubi probably hated him now…

_Ritsuka waited and waited, glancing at the clock every few steps he paced. 12:05. Soubi was late. Over an hour late. __**Why am I even waiting? **__Ritsuka asked himself. He shook his head, fighting away the feelings of sadness, loneliness, and maybe even…jealousy. Soubi was, after all, probably with Kio working on a project. Ritsuka couldn't blame him. All he did was push the Fighter away._

_ Whimpering, Ritsuka collapsed onto the bed, holding the pillow. The curtains covering Ritsuka's open balcony blew and he sat up, "Soubi!" No reply came. It had just been the wind. Crestfallen, he flopped back down, flipping open his phone and looking desperately for a text message. _

_ "Looking for me?" The deep voice made Ritsuka sit up again. _

_ "Soubi!" Ritsuka ran the man leaning on the doorway. He wrapped his arms around Soubi's waist, not caring about his own usual attitude about affection. _

_ "I'm sorry I'm late," Soubi ran his fingers through Ritsuka's jet black hair. "It turns out that it was Natsou and Youji who broke the heater in my complex. I had to go and talk their way out of it." _

_ Ritsuka pulled away from him a little, "Can we talk?"_

_ "Anything, Ritsuka," Soubi agreed, a loving smile on his as Ritsuka sat down on the bed. _

_ "I-I want you to explain to me," Ritsuka started, looking down at the floor. "What really happened when we went to the academy a month ago?" _

_ Soubi sighed, sitting next to Ritsuka on the bed, "Ritsuka…"_

_ Ritsuka met his blue eyes, "Please, Soubi, I just want to know."_

_ "Ritsuka, I can't."_

_ Ritsuka got up and crossed his arms, fuming. "And why not?" He asked angrily._

_ "Because I-"_

_ "Let me guess," Ritsuka cut him off. He knew he shouldn't snap at Soubi like he was, but it was always the same story. "Seimei told you that you couldn't say anything to me, right? I wish you would just realize that's its all in your head. You're my Fighter now! You don't have to obey Seimei anymore!" _

_ "Ritsuka, you don't understand-!" Soubi started again, almost franticly. _

_ "I do understand! You don't do anything I say, but you'll do anything Seimei says!" Ritsuka was yelling, now. "You know what? You don't even love me! Sometimes I let myself believe your lie, but I know you just say that because __**he **__told you to-!"_

_ "Ritsuka!" Soubi grabbed Ritsuka's arm, yanking his down close to him. "I __**do **__love you. I love you more than anything. I'm not lying," He said sincerely. "And I can't tell you because I don't know. There are things neither, you or me know. This is one of them. I don't know what happened that night. I'm still working it out myself."_

_ "Bullshit!" Ritsuka yelled, tearing his arm away from Soubi. "Get out, liar! I hate you! Get the hell out of here and never come back!" _

_ And Soubi left. He left Ritsuka alone and went away silently. Ritsuka had collapsed to the floor after he did, sobbing. "I don't hate you! I'm sorry!" He cried out. At some point, Ritsuka had crawled into his bed and found Soubi's coat under his pillow. He draped it over himself, crying into it and falling asleep._

Ritsuka let his loud crying echo through the basement. He wanted to get out of here, he wanted something to eat, but most of all he missed Soubi. As if being in a cold, dark place wasn't enough, the person he cared about the most probably hated him. He had the right to anyways, after what Ritsuka had said to him.

"Why?" Ritsuka said between his sobbing to no one in particular. "Why did I say that? I didn't mean it!"

Ritsuka fell asleep once again curled up with the jacket, knowing he was going to die without ever having a chance to say how sorry he was.

* * *

Ritsuka had been missing for three days. Three days of pure hell. Soubi paced in the boy's room, trying to think of where to search next. He didn't need to be a genius to figure out that something bad had happened. He had called every one of Ritsuka's friends, even the ones from his old school. Then he had called the teacher, Shinonome-Sensei and every other kid in the class. Nobody knew anything.

Soubi also knew Ritsuka didn't run away. He would never leave his mother, for one thing, and he most likely would have left a note. The note would've told Soubi to not look for him, since Ritsuka would figure out that Soubi would if he didn't tell him not to. That meant that he had been taken. Kidnapped. Maybe even… murdered. No, Ritsuka wasn't dead. Soubi refused to believe it. He would find Ritsuka, and he would find him alive.

There was other evidence Ritsuka had been taken, such as the bed left in disarray, the room a mess, and the blood spattered on the wall. All signs of a struggle, one that probably took Ritsuka away from him.

"Ritsuka!" A woman called from the floor below. Soubi froze. Misaki. Ritsuka's abusive mother. She had been gone for the three days Ritsuka had been taken, but now she was back, destroying one of Soubi's few leads on where his Sacrifice could be. He had already searched the house, anyway.

Misaki pounded up the stairs, banging on Ritsuka's door, yelling for him to come out. Soubi just barely jumped the railing of the balcony before she busted open the locked door and barged in. He ran, trying to be unseen by her, down the street that he always took back to his own apartment.

"You're back!" Youji stated loudly as Soubi headed through the door for the first time in days. He had left Natsou and Youji with Kio, knowing that they would burn down the entire building if they were left alone.

"Where have you been, Soubi?" Kio asked from the kitchen.

Soubi looked at him, eyes narrowed, "I need to talk to you." He motioned for him to follow him into the bedroom. Kio didn't try to crack any jokes, probably because of the serious expression on Soubi's face and the fact that he had been gone for three days.

"Ritsuka is missing," He said, looking his friend straight in the eye. "And I think I need the police's help to find him."

* * *

**Hello!**

**I am Wolfie. **

**This is something I started writing a while ago. I have some of it planned out and I have up to the third chapter written, but I was skeptical about posting this. I finally decided to, though.**

**It is rated M for later chapters.**

**Review if you want moar!**

**~Wolfie  
**


	2. Day 002

**Day 002**

Ritsuka awoke from his fitful sleep even more exhausted and sore than last time. At least he was warmer, due to Soubi's coat. He sat up again, making a small sound of pain as he did, and looked around to see if his surroundings changed at all.

Ritsuka's eyes went wide as they fell on a bowl within his reach. It had obviously been put there while he was asleep. All Ritsuka could think was _food!_ He reached for the brown glass bowl and was happy beyond belief to find food in there. It looked disgusting, though, like tanish-brown soup with oatmeal-like chunks in it. Ritsuka didn't care; he ate it all anyways.

It was then that he found a stack of photos underneath the bowl. Feeling better, Ritsuka sat back against the wall and flipped through them curiously. There were many of them, all of Ritsuka doing various activities like sitting at his desk at school, going to Yuiko's house, or walking home with Soubi. Many of the pictures had multiple shots, as if they were taken with a camera that took more than one shot at a time. A lot of them had Soubi and Ritsuka both in it, as if the photographer was mainly focusing on the times they were together.

Every one of the photos had the exact date, time, and the names of the people in the pictures written n the back in terrible handwriting. Particularly, Soubi was referenced as 'that lunatic' rather than his actual name. The last picture in the stack was one of Soubi kissing Ritsuka. Ritsuka smiled, remembering that day.

_It was a week after the whole Seven Voices Academy ordeal. Ritsuka and Soubi had finally returned to their 'normal' lives. Soubi had picked Ritsuka up at school and brought him back to his apartment. Ritsuka fell asleep watching Soubi paint, tired from being beat by his mother the previous night._

_ "Ritsuka," Soubi shook him awake after a couple hours. "Ritsuka, wake up. There's something I want you to see." _

_ Ritsuka sat up, groggily rubbing his eyes. He noted that Soubi had moved him from the couch to the bed. Judging by the light coming in through the windows it was also before his curfew, sometime around sunset. "What is it?" He asked, still feeling tired. _

_ In response, Soubi grabbed his wrist, leading him out to Soubi's balcony._

_ "Wow!" Ritsuka exclaimed, running to the railing. The sun was setting over the high-rise buildings on the horizon. The sky looked like it was painted with pinks and purples and blues. The sun cast brilliant shades of red, yellow, and orange, creating shadows on the buildings. The sky also gave the snow on the ground a yellow tint._

_ "I wanted you to see the winter sunset," Soubi came up behind him, wrapping his arms around Ritsuka's thin frame. Ritsuka turned in his hold and returned the hug, wanting time to just stand still. _

_ Ritsuka didn't know which of them started it, but they were suddenly wrapped up in a kiss. Ritsuka's eyes had shut and for the first time, when he felt Soubi's tongue prodding at his mouth, he kissed back. He wanted that moment to last forever, but he knew it wouldn't. _

There was a short note on the back of it, rather than the usual things:

_Ritsuka-_

_ I've been watching you._

_ It seems I have let you two get too close._

_ -S_

Ritsuka stared at it, the gears in his head beginning to turn. S? Who signed S as their signature? Besides Soubi, he could only think of one person whose name started with S. Seimei.

Ritsuka suddenly felt scared. Very scared. He had been kidnapped by his own brother and the only person who could possibly save him probably didn't care at all.

* * *

"Let's go!" Soubi shouted over the wind to Kio, Natsou, and Youji. The four had arrived at the Aoyagi household and Soubi had told them of a plan to lure Misaki away from the house. Natsou and Youji still didn't know of Ritsuka's disappearance, but Soubi planned to tell them after this plan went through.

It was almost foolproof. Soubi had it all planned exactly. Ritsuka had told him of his father and how he rarely came home from work. There was a certain time of the year that he got off for New Year's Eve and after Christmas. That time was now. It was the twenty-seventh, the first day of Ritsuka father's yearly vacation.

The plan was for Natsou and Youji to distract Misaki and lure her away from the house. Soubi and Kio were to go through the forever-unlocked back door and find Ritsuka's father. Soubi would then interrogate him without Kio, since he had information on him that wasn't for Kio's ears.

"Be careful, you two," Soubi told Natsou and Youji. "Remember she's extremely violent, so try not to set her off. Act like Ritsuka, Youji." The plan to get Misaki away required a whole new setup. Youji had a black wig on and other features to try to look like Ritsuka. Soubi just hoped she was delusional enough not to notice how much taller Youji was or that his tail was different.

"We'll be fine," Youji growled, itching at the wig.

Soubi watched as the two went up to the house and knocked on the door. When Misaki answered, Soubi pulled Kio into the bushes near the house, close enough so that they could listen.

"…Mom," Youji said upon seeing Misaki. Soubi noted just how bad at acting Youji was.

"Ritsuka!" Wow. She really was crazy enough to believe Youji was her son. She pulled him into a tight hug and then glared at Natsou. "Who's this?" She asked coldly.

"Mother, this is my friend," Youji said happily. "His mother said he could only come to the park if you came. Will you take us, please?" Youji actually wasn't doing half bad. Neither was Natsou, who looked at the ground drawing little circles with his feet, trying to look embarrassed. Soubi hadn't told them what to say. This could turn out a complete disaster since Ritsuka's mother was a shut-in. They would probably just use a spell on her if nothing else worked.

"Come on!" Soubi darted out of the bushes and around to the side of the house, closely followed by Kio on his heels. He climbed the fence and landed on his feet on the other side. From there he headed towards the house. Kio tried to follow him but was stopped by Soubi. "You stay here and guard. Don't come in even if you hear screaming. Only do so if somebody's coming or you get the call from Natsou and Youji."

"What the hell are-!" Kio started but fell silent, seeing that Soubi would not answer.

Kiyoshi was sitting at the kitchen table, reading the paper and drinking coffee as if nothing was happening. This angered Soubi all the more. He remembered what had happened the previous night.

_"Soubi-kun," Ritsu greeted as Soubi opened the door to his apartment. He was tempted to slam the door in his face and bolt it shut. __**This is for Ritsuka**__, he reminded himself. _

_ "Trust me, I'm not happy to have you here," Soubi glared at his former teacher. "Where's Seven and Nagisa?" _

_ "They're coming right behind me," Sure enough Soubi could hear a woman's high-pitched voice carrying down the hallway. "Would you be kind enough to let me in?" Regretting his decision to call Ritsu into this, Soubi moved aside, letting him, Nagisa, and Seven into his apartment._

_ "What is it you had to call us in for at such a late time?" Nagisa frowned, sitting down on the couch. Seven took her place next to Nagisa, with Ritsu standing off to the side. _

_ "Ritsuka has gone missing. It's been three days now," Soubi told them with a sigh. Natsou and Youji were gone at Kio's place so that they wouldn't eavesdrop on their conversation."_

"_Missing?" Ritsu was clearly surprised. "Are you sure he didn't just run away?"_

_ "There was blood, lots of it, and signs of a struggle. I wouldn't call that running away," Soubi pointed out. "And there was no note."_

_ "What do you want us to do about it?" Nagisa's voice lost her usual tone of hatred for him. _

"_I want to know if any of you know anything about Ritsuka's father."_

_ The three of them all exchanged glances. Ritsu gave Seven a little nod and she reached into her laptop bag and pulled out a paper with computer type on it. She handed it and a pen to Ritsu and he signed it._

_ "I can tell you right now that he's not involved in this," He said in all seriousness. "But, I am giving you permission to fully interrogate him." He gave the paper to Soubi, who quickly saw it was a warrant to __interrogate Aoyagi Kiyoshi. _

"Aoyagi Kiyoshi," Soubi said in an angry tone as he stepped through the sliding glass door. The brown-haired man at the table glanced up from his paper, only a flicker of surprise showing in his dark eyes. The only feature that told him he was Ritsuka's dad was the color of them; the large deep violet eyes that didn't seem to fit a man of his age. They just made Soubi miss Ritsuka all the more.

"Hello," Kiyoshi greeted calmly. "You're Agatsuma Soubi."

Soubi stopped in his tracks, suddenly hyper-aware of everything. This man knew his name. Therefore, this man was not normal. Neither Ritsuka or Seimei would speak of him to either of their parents. How could this man know him?

"Ritsu used to talk about you all the time," Kiyoshi explained, folding the paper on the table and scooting his chair backwards. This man knew Ritsu? Who was he?

Soubi looked away from him, letting his battle frequency out. He knew this was dangerous, since his was large and it could attract any unit in the area, but he did it as a test.

"Ah," Kiyoshi winced, confirming Soubi's suspicions. "No need to get violent."

"I have every right to," Soubi growled, talking at last. "Just who are you?"

"Where's Misaki?" Kiyoshi countered. "And it wouldn't be a fair fight and you know it, since neither one of us has a Sacrifice."

Aoyagi Kiyoshi was a Fighter. Soubi had always had his theories about one of Ritsuka's parents being a Fighter or a Sacrifice, since it was impossible for one to be one without one of their parents being one. Soubi had always thought it was Misaki, though, since she was severely ill, which could be a side-effect of a spell.

He also knew Soubi was a Fighter. He was beginning to put things together in his head. Seimei had a predecessor to him when he was a part of Septimal Moon. Soubi had never given thought to who it could be, but he knew that usually places got passed down to a family member. Aoyagi Kiyoshi knew Ritsu. Kiyoshi was a Fighter. Kiyoshi was on the Septimal Moon board?

"You," Soubi walked towards him, having it all figured out. "You stepped down and let Seimei take your place on the Septimal Moon council. Don't lie to me. Ritsu signed a paper that says you have to tell me everything."

Septimal Moon was the organization that governed every Sacrifice and Fighter. There were many all over the world, not just the one Ritsu was head of.

"Wrong, Soubi," Kiyoshi stood, slamming his hands on the table, startling Soubi a little with rage burning into his eyes. "Wrong," He repeated. "My own son _made_ me step down. You should know about his violent ways. I see the bandages on your neck. I know what you're thinking. I know what everyone's thinking."

_This guy is just as crazy as his wife_, Soubi thought to himself as Kiyoshi breathed heavily.

"I. Am. Not," He seemed to be having some sort of breakdown.

"Am not _what_?" Soubi didn't care how crazy this guy was. He was not going to let his guard down. Kiyoshi looked like he was going to snap at any second.

"I'm not as crazy as her," He breathed. Had he just responded to what Soubi had been thinking? "That's right. My true name is Thoughtless. Our power is that we can read anyone's thoughts when we want to. I know exactly why you're here, Agatsuma Soubi, and also what you were remembering right when you stepped through that door."

"Where is he?" Soubi surprised himself. He hadn't expected himself to be the first to break. Being distraught over Ritsuka had dragged his emotions to the surface, and made it so that he could not keep them hidden.

Kiyoshi seemed to suddenly calm down. A tranquil expression took over his features and he stood straight up, drawing himself to full height. Soubi realized just how close he had gotten to him, as he was almost touching him. Kiyoshi was shorter than him, only coming up to Soubi's chin.

"Who?" That comment sent Soubi right over the edge, He knew _exactly_ who Soubi was talking about. He lashed out, his hand striking Kiyoshi's face hard enough to knock him off his feet with a good yell.

"You know something, don't you?" Soubi stood over where he landed.

"I do not," Kiyoshi said as he rose with a grunt, facing Soubi. "Ritsuka has been gone for four days?"

Soubi didn't doubt that he could read minds. Every unit had a special power that was unique for them. Thoughtless's power seemed inevitable. It did seem quite annoying, however.

"Stop doing that," Soubi ordered, wanting to hit him again.

Kiyoshi tried to slip out of the space where Soubi had him trapped against the wall, only to get slammed back against it. "I don't know," He looked down and away. "You're his Fighter unit? Interesting. And you were Seimei's? I see he didn't treat you well."

Annoyed at him going off topic, Soubi resorted to violence again, slapping him across the face. "Shut up and tell me everything you know," Soubi still had him pinned by the shoulders to the wall. His phone buzzed in his pocket, but he ignored it since he knew he was on the brink of something.

"Look," Kiyoshi was calm again. Soubi was starting to wonder about his mood swings. "I want to know as much as you do. I know you're in love with him. I'm his father. I want to find him as much as you do."

"No you don't," Soubi hissed, grabbing him by the collar. He remembered some of Ritsuka's stories of his father, how he was never there. He was a high-end lawyer that was drunk whenever he came home. Soubi despised him and had absolutely no respect for him. "You're never there for him. Where are you when your wife beats the shit out of him every night? I'm the one that he calls when he needs anything." Soubi dropped him, deciding he knew nothing and headed towards the door.

"Wait!" Kiyoshi called after him. Soubi turned around, reluctant to give him another chance. "I can help you. You can use my abilities and connections."

Soubi thought this over. He could read minds- he could tell a person's true motives. He was a top-notch lawyer- he could bend anybody to his will. He was a former Septimal Moons member- he could bend the Septimal Moons to his will and he knew of other units that could help them.

The door banged open and Misaki came in, screaming about Ritsuka. Before she spotted him, Soubi saw a knocked out Youji on the front steps. _Damn! I got one of them hurt in this mess!_

"Fine!" He yelled to Kiyoshi. "Just don't screw anything up!" He bolted past the lunatic woman, picking up Youji in the process, and made his way towards the car.

* * *

**Thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews!**

**Kiyoshi is Ritsuka's father's official name. I read it somewhere, I just don't remember where. He's here to stay, guys, sorry!**

**I have up to the first half of chapter five (day 005) written on my hard-drive. Review and I'll put up more!**

**~Wolfie  
**


	3. Day 003

**Day 003**

Ritsuka scratched another line in the wall behind him, making three total. Three days. He had been awake in this hell for three days. He didn't want to estimate how many days total.

Ritsuka had been trying to keep his space clean. He went to the bathroom in the farthest spot the chain would let him go and brushed the dirt out of the place he slept in. He made sure no dust collected on Soubi's coat or the photos that had been taken.

Ritsuka had regained some health and was able to stand and walk around a little. The chain was long, and allowed Ritsuka to stretch his legs a little. His eyes were adjusting, too, and he could now see the entire dungeon and all the decaying bodies in it.

One thing he longed for was for the single light bulb on the ceiling to be turned on. He didn't like the dark at all, and was even afraid of it, a fear that he had only told one other person.

Ritsuka had been surprised when Soubi didn't laugh at him or make some joke out of Ritsuka being terrified of the dark. He had smiled kindly, saying that he had been when he was Ritsuka's age, too.

Ritsuka was hit with a sudden wave of loneliness and want for his Fighter. He didn't want to see anyone but him. Not his mother, not Yuiko, not even Seimei, who he suspected to be his captor.

Ritsuka hated himself for pushing Soubi away so much. Soubi had loved him, and not because Seimei had told him to. Ritsuka had called him a liar for saying so, but Ritsuka could hear the truth in his words now. He had loved him and cared for him when no one else would. After his mother's beatings, Soubi would be the person Ritsuka would call and he would be there within minutes to help bandage his wounds. He would pick the teen up from school and take him to the park, walk him home, or even take him back to his house. He would help Ritsuka with his homework or play video games with him or he would let Ritsuka nap on his bed if he'd had a particularly bad night.

If Ritsuka were to get out of this hell he would tell Soubi he was sorry about what he said during their fight. He would tell him how wrong he was. He would tell him how much he loved him.

Not wanting to feel sad and depressed, Ritsuka lay on the ground, pulling the coat over him as a blanket, and slowly drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Soubi stood on the balcony of his apartment, blowing smoke into the air. Natsou was with a sleeping Youji. Much against Soubi's instinct, Kiyoshi was there also, in the living room doing something useless. The sun was starting to set over the high-rise buildings of Tokyo.

It was a nice sunset, really, but Soubi found himself unable to focus on anything. It reminded him too much of when Ritsuka watched the sunset with him a week after they had gotten back from their crazy road trip. Yet, he stayed out on the balcony, smoking and watching the sunset with dull eyes.

What if Ritsuka had really run away? He was still probably pissed off at him from the fight they'd had right before Ritsuka disappeared. He might have been so mad, he didn't even leave a note. But then, there had been a good amount of blood on the wall next to Ritsuka's bed…

_Why did I just walk away like that? _Ritsuka had told him to get the hell out, so Soubi had left. Soubi had told him the truth; that he didn't know _what_ happened that night with Seimei and Septimal Moon. Ritsuka hadn't believed him, though. That wasn't the part that had hurt the most, though. Ritsuka had said that he hated Soubi.

_Was that true? _Soubi loved Ritsuka more than anything. Ritsuka refused to think of him as a tool, and told him he was exactly the same as he or Seimei. He had helped Soubi realize that Soubi didn't love Seimei, that abuse and dominance didn't equal love. Soubi had tried to show Ritsuka how much he loved him, but it hadn't worked.

Soubi was going find him, even if it was the last thing he did. He wouldn't give up until he found Ritsuka and killed his captor, no matter who it was. And if they had done _anything_ to him, the consequences would be a lot worse than death.

"And if Ritsuka's captor is Seimei…?" A voice said from the doorway. Soubi turned to see Kiyoshi leaning against the doorframe, looking at him over his glasses.  
"…Seimei?" Soubi repeated, not having that possibility cross his mind.

"Yes," Kiyoshi's tone was serious. "Think, Agatsuma Soubi. It's not Misaki. It's not me. Who else could have taken Ritsuka?"

"Seimei," Soubi said again, unable to really understand. Seimei. Seimei wanted Ritsuka. Seimei's plans were in action and everyone knew he was alive. He probably wanted to take down Septimal Moon. The only thing (other than him) Seimei thought of as human was Ritsuka, his little brother.

"Yes, Seimei," Kiyoshi came to stand next to him, leaning on the railing. "I just got off the phone with Ritsu," He stated. "He told me everything that happened. That Bloodless pair that you and Ritsuka fought stole a lot of data from Septimal Moon. They're just two of Seimei's organization. He's got a bunch of them on his side. He's moving closer to his goal and needed to procure Ritsuka. Are you prepared to fight him?"

"I-I don't know," Soubi confessed. Seimei still had control over him. _Would_ he be able to fight him?

Kiyoshi's eyes drifted to the bandages on Soubi's neck. "Your scars are bleeding. You're disobeying your name."

Soubi's hand automatically went up to touch the bandages, finding them wet with blood. He left Kiyoshi on the balcony, making his way to the bathroom, wondering why they were bleeding if he hadn't disobeyed his name at all.

* * *

Ritsuka yawned, sitting up, knowing that he couldn't have slept more than an hour. He hadn't dreamed and the sleep hadn't even felt like sleep. He was happy, though, to find another bowl of food sitting about three feet away from him. He ate it quickly, glad that he was being fed and not neglected. His head began to spin, though, making him scoot back against the wall and rest his head against the stone.

Ritsuka's black ears perked and he found himself nearly immobile as a creak sounded from the door across the room. Ritsuka clenched his eyes shut as blinding light hit his eyes. The door was quickly and footsteps headed towards him.

_What was put in that food they gave me?_ Ritsuka opened his eyes, seeing a pair of long legs heading towards him and a long bushy black tail swaying slightly to the side. The figure reached him, kneeling down, and Ritsuka found himself staring into his older brother's dark, dark eyes.

"Sei-Seimei?" Ritsuka stuttered, barely able to talk. It was Seimei. The person who had kidnapped him was, indeed, Seimei. Ritsuka didn't throw his arms around him happily or even smile, like he had done at Seven Voices. He wasn't happy to see him.

"Yes, my kitten," Ritsuka growled a little at the nickname, since Soubi sometimes he called him that, too. Seimei reached forward, fondling one of his cat ears thoughtfully. "These need to come off," He grinned darkly. He moved so that he was trapping Ritsuka against the wall so that, even if he could, he couldn't move.

"O-off?" Ritsuka was terrified now, at how Seimei was speaking and touching him.

"Your ears," Seimei told him, coldly but kindly. "They belong to me."

* * *

Soubi looked at his reflection, not knowing _what_ to think. He traced his fingers over the _B_ in _Beloved_. It was fading, healing. A scar that shouldn't be was healing over. It was unheard of. Why was this happening? Did Seimei know? Was his ownership being given up?

Soubi stayed there for god knows how long, just staring at his own reflection, before finally deciding to clean the blood up and replace the bandages.

Kiyoshi was still at the balcony, staring blankly out at the sunset. He could know something about it.

"My scars are fading," Soubi told him, going to join him.

Kiyoshi turned to him, his expression surprised, "That's not possible."

"I'm not lying. Can't you tell with your little ability?"

"I can stop if I want to. Let me see," Kiyoshi eyed his bandages again. Soubi frowned, but gave in, taking them off. Kiyoshi stepped back, cringing a little. "Looks… painful, though it looks like something he'd do." He stared for a moment, his face shocked. "I don't know how that can be… It's definitely fading."

* * *

"No, Seimei!" Ritsuka tried to push him away, but found that it took most of his energy just to give a tiny shove.

"You've always belonged to me, Ritsuka, all of you," He purred in Ritsuka's ear. "You're the only one who deserves my ears. I'm the only one who deserves yours." His lips connected roughly to Ritsuka's, his tongue pushing into his mouth and his teeth biting Ritsuka's lips. His hands went down, undoing the buttons on Ritsuka's dirty shirt. Ritsuka could only whine in protest.

"Stop! Please!" Ritsuka begged when Seimei finally stopped kissing him.

"Who were you going to give your ears to, anyways?" Seimei shoved him down onto the dirty, cold, concrete floor. He got on top of his little brother, pinning him to the ground.

Ritsuka choked back tears, "S-Soubi…"

Seimei's expression turned to one of disgust. "That idiot?" He sneered. "That stupid dog?"

"Don't talk about him like that!" Ritsuka cried, trying to wiggle away from Seimei.

"He didn't love you," Seimei leaned down, sinking his sharp teeth into Ritsuka's neck. Ritsuka let out a small sob. "He only made you think he did because _I _told him to."

"You're lying!" Ritsuka yelled. Soubi loved him. He'd said so during their fight. If his love wasn't actually there then why had Ritsuka heard the truth in his words?

Seimei growled and took of Ritsuka's pants and boxers. "Stop squirming or I'll make it a lot more painful," He told him, beginning to circle his entrance with his finger, only pushing his fingertip in. His voice suddenly turned soft and caring, "I don't want to hurt you, Ritsuka." He kissed Ritsuka's hip gently. "But you need to stop moving around," Seimei's voice was deep and caring, almost like the Seimei Ritsuka remembered, and not the sadistic animal from only seconds earlier. "I want to make this enjoyable for you, too."

Ritsuka felt Seimei move back upwards and kiss him on the mouth, not being violent this time. Ritsuka started to cry, tears running down his cheeks. Seimei's tongue poked at his lips, asking for entrance, and Ritsuka opened his mouth not wanting to feel too consequences of not doing so. Seimei's wet tongue slid into his mouth, feeling its way around.

Seimei broke off the kiss. "I love you, Ritsuka," Seimei murmured into his ear. Ritsuka felt something hard and clothed press against his leg and all he could think was _Oh God, Seimei's really going to do this._

Seimei moved down a little, taking one of Ritsuka's nipples into his mouth and sucking. Ritsuka covered his eyes, humiliated by the way the he was getting turned on. He was beginning to regain control over his body, but he still laid there, still as he could be.

"That's a good boy, Ritsuka," Seimei said, his breath hot against Ritsuka's skin. _No, no, no_, he thought over and over. _What's wrong with me? Why is this making me hard? I don't want this!_ Ritsuka moaned as Seimei moved even lower, pressing a kiss on his half-hard cock. Ritsuka whimpered as Seimei took him into his mouth, gently sucking. He closed his eyes and a shudder ran through Ritsuka as he tried to imagine that it was Soubi in between his legs, sucking him off gently and slowly.

"Ohh…" It was working for Ritsuka. He had tricked his mind into thinking that it was his Fighter doing all this to him and they were at his apartment, on his bed. Ritsuka moaned louder as the person on top of him began to swirl their tongue around the head. He thrusted upwards with a cry. "S-Sou-" He stopped himself before he said Soubi's full name. "Seimei!" He came quickly into Seimei's mouth, unable to stop himself. He felt like crying again out of shame for getting turned on and then coming. It was so…wrong.

"Good Ritsuka," Seimei praised, pushing a finger into him. "You're so grown up now. I'm surprised that you still have your ears. Then again, if he had taken them, I would have probably killed him."

"You leave Soubi alone!" Ritsuka yelled, his voice suddenly higher. He covered his eyes again out of shame for having an orgasm. He felt Seimei add another finger and start scissoring them.

"I won't do anything to him if you're a good little Ritsuka," Seimei told him, taking off his own pants. He lined his hard member up with Ritsuka's hole and thrust in quickly. The tears fell from Ritsuka's eyes again, as he realized that he was losing his ears to his older brother.

"No," He wailed as Seimei thrusted in and out repeatedly. It hurt like hell. Ritsuka screamed out in pain. _Soubi! _He called out in his mind. _Come save me from this hell! _His insides felt like they were being torn apart. There was no pleasure, only pain. Seimei didn't slow down his thrusts, or even build up to full speed, he had just gone right at it.

The air filled with Seimei's grunts as he went far in, saying Ritsuka's name over and over. Ritsuka didn't know how long it was until Seimei finally came inside of Ritsuka. He collapsed on top of him and then pulled out, blood and semen spilling out of Ritsuka. His lips and neck bled from Seimei's earlier attacks on him.

Seimei stood, pulling his clothes back on and knelt back down, pushing a key into the lock that handcuffed Ritsuka to the chain.

"Soubi isn't looking for you," Seimei said darkly before flipping the light on and leaving. "Nobody is."

* * *

**I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I made poor Ritsuka lose his ears! I'm evil, I know!**

**Thank you fro all the wonderful reviews! I really do appreciate it!**

**Keep reviewing if you want more!**

**~Wolfie  
**


	4. Day 004

**Day 004**

Soubi gasped as he awoke suddenly, sensing something horribly wrong. He glanced at the digital clock sitting beside the bed, noting that it was

just past midnight. He struggled to think of what was wrong. A scream interrupted his thoughts, sounding horribly like Ritsuka. It was loud and echoing in Soubi's head, and he never recalled hearing someone scream so terribly.

It sounded like he was in a lot of pain. Soubi could only think of one thing that Seimei would do to make Ritsuka be in so much pain: have sex with him.

_Soubi!_ Another voice that sounded eerily like Ritsuka sounded in his head. _Come save me from this hell! _The voice sounded so strained and pained. _I'm coming, Ritsuka! _He tried to communicate back to him, knowing that it probably wouldn't work.

Soubi had been planning to set out as soon as Youji was fully recovered, but he knew that he had to go now, before Ritsuka truly got hurt.

"Kiyoshi!" He yelled, flipping the lights on and putting a pair of jeans on.

Kiyoshi came pounding in from where had been sleeping out on the couch, "What is it?"

Soubi sighed, "Ritsuka just called out to me. He was in…pain. I think he lost his ears. We need to go."

"Go where?" Kiyoshi argued. "Do you even have a plan?"

No. Soubi didn't. He had no plan. "No, I don't," He answered, pulling a shirt on and throwing a few things into a bag.

"Then how the hell do you plan on saving Ritsuka?" Kiyoshi snapped. "We need to meet with Septimal Moon. And let them tell us what to do."

"Fine," Soubi growled. He honestly didn't care what he had to do. He just…needed to find Ritsuka, even if it meant seeing Ritsu.

* * *

Ritsuka dreamed about Soubi that night. He was back at Soubi's apartment for some reason, and he had no ears. He broke down right in front of Soubi, telling him that it had been Seimei and Ritsuka had gotten turned on by it. Soubi had gently kissed him, and said that it was okay.

Then Ritsuka awoke to the blinding light, naked, and covered in blood and Seimei's semen. He blinked away the light, his eyes slowly focusing on the ceiling.

"Oh? You're awake this time?" A quiet male voice that Ritsuka didn't recognize sounded from beside him. Ritsuka sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. A brown haired man who looked about Soubi's age sat cross legged at his side. Brown ears protruded from his short brown hair and a bushy tail rested on the floor, the tip twitching occasionally. He was dressed normally in black jeans, a blue shirt, and a white button up shirt over that.

Ritsuka scrambled to cover himself, realizing that he was naked. The man chuckled.

"Who are you?" Ritsuka demanded, drawing his knees to his chest so that the man wouldn't see him fully exposed. What if this man just wanted to rape him, like Seimei had?

The man patted him on the head, "I'm Nakahira. I'm the one taking care of you."

Ritsuka scooted backwards, trying to get as far away from the man as possible, "Are you working with Seimei?"

Nakahira shook his head, "I'm forced to be here. I'm a captive, just like you. I'm supposed to feed you and give you the things that you need. Seimei told me to bathe you, so I'm going to have to blindfold you," He raised his hand, showing Ritsuka a blindfold in his hand.

Ritsuka was tempted to run from this man since he wasn't on the chain anymore, but something made him trust him. He let Nakahira blindfold him and wrap a warm blanket around him. He picked him up and murmured softly into his ear, "You'll feel better after your bath." Ritsuka relaxing, thinking that the way Nakahira-san was holding him made him think of the way Soubi would hold him when Ritsuka got tired.

He was still a little afraid, though, of what Nakahira was going to do. He had _said_ that he was just a caretaker, another captive, but what if he was lying?

"I won't do anything to you, Ritsuka," He told Ritsuka, setting him down on a cold tile floor. He shut the door and untied the blindfold. What Ritsuka saw was not what he expected. It was a normal bathroom, nothing more. A big bathtub was filled with inviting water that looked warm. His reflection was the thing Ritsuka was staring at, though.

Nakahira had set him down right in front of a mirror. The person Ritsuka saw staring back at him was not himself. Their hair was matted. No ears rested on top their head and their face was scratched, bloodied, and dirty. His eyes were dull, instead of their usual bright purple.

"You're light, Ritsuka," He commented, patting the side of the bathtub. Ritsuka tore himself away from his reflection and pulled the blanket off, slowly stepping into the warm water. It felt nice and Ritsuka let the water soak into his skin. He laid back, closing his eyes.

"You wait here, I'll go get you a clean set of clothes and a towel," Nakahira said, quietly leaving Ritsuka in the tub alone.

* * *

"What is your relationship like with Ritsuka?" Kiyoshi asked Soubi as the two made their way through the snow to the Aoyagi household. Kiyoshi had somehow convinced Soubi to come back to the Aoyagi household with him to get his stuff and take his car.

It was cold out and they were alone. Snow was on the ground, more than should've been in mid-January. Soubi could see his own breath. He assumed it was about the coldest night that winter. The two trudged through the snow, trying to make their way to the Aoyagi house before too much time was wasted. An hour had already past.

"My relationship with him?" Soubi repeated, almost not wanting to respond.

"Yes," Kiyoshi stopped for a moment. "I know you're Fighter and Sacrifice, but that can't be it."

"Can't you just read my mind to find out?" Soubi retorted. Honestly, he felt like having Kiyoshi around was an invasion of privacy. He knew that he was good to have around, though.

Kiyoshi shoved his hands in this coat pockets, "I don't feel like it."

Soubi hesitated, not feeling about talking about such a thing with Kiyoshi while his Ritsuka was locked away somewhere. "I love him," He said finally. "Seimei- Seimei ordered me to do so before he faked his death." He watched to see if Kiyoshi was surprised to hear his other son was his Sacrifice, too, but he seemed to know. "I came to actually love him," He continued. "I would never hurt him. I would do anything to protect him. I'll never leave him."

They walked in silence for a while before Kiyoshi announced, "We're here."

Soubi looked up at the familiar house that he visited without anybody but Ritsuka knowing. He had spent countless evenings in Ritsuka's bedroom, talking with him, helping him with homework, or even just staring at Ritsuka. He wanted to visit it once again, to try and feel Ritsuka's presence again.

"Would it be okay if I went up to Ritsuka's room?" He asked Kiyoshi, his voice holding none of the anger it usually would for him.

Kiyoshi was already half-way up the driveway. He nodded, "Sure. But you're going to have to get up the balcony somehow because Misaki isn't going to like a stranger in her house."

* * *

Nakahira helped Ritsuka take his bath and helped him get dressed in new, clean clothes. He was right; Ritsuka did feel better, much better. Ritsuka couldn't walk, so Nakahira carried him back to the dungeon.

Ritsuka was starting to trust the man, since he had given him no reason not to. Nakahira set him down by Soubi's coat. He looked down at the purple jacket with black fur trim.

"I'm going to wash your clothes. Do you want me to wash that too?"

"No!" Ritsuka exclaimed, holding the furry coat in both hands. He was attached to it, since it reminded him so much of his Fighter. He didn't want to forget anything about Soubi. If Ritsuka let Soubi slip from his memory, he would have nothing to hold on to.

"Alright," Nakahira put his hands up, as if to say that he wasn't going to try to take it from him. "Is there anything I can get you? Besides food, that is. I'll bring you food soon."

Ritsuka thought for a moment. He didn't want to forget Soubi. There had to be _something_ he could do…

"Could… Could you bring me a notebook and something to write with?" Ritsuka requested.

Nakahira smiled down at him, "I'll go talk to Seimei about it."

* * *

Soubi got onto the balcony with ease. Ritsuka never locked his door. Soubi always knew it was because of him. Ritsuka knew that he sometimes visited late at night or when Ritsuka was with his mother, so he always left the door unlocked for him. Even now the door was left unlocked, granting Soubi easy access.

The room was exactly how Soubi had left it three days before. He could distantly hear voices from downstairs. Soubi quietly stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. The room smelled of Ritsuka's sweet, flowery scent. Soubi longed for that scent. He would often press his nose into Ritsuka's hair just to smell the intoxicating smell.

He missed everything about his young Sacrifice. He was so soft and cute. So _small_. If Soubi didn't have Ritsuka then he had nothing. There was nothing else to live for. Yes, Seimei was alive, but that didn't matter. Soubi would rather kill himself than to go back living under Seimei's law.

Soubi sat at Ritsuka's desk, staring at the Ritsuka had up on the wall. For the first time in years, he felt like crying. What if Ritsuka was already dead? No… He couldn't be. If Ritsuka was dead Soubi would surely know it. Ritsuka was alive. The question was how much time did he have left?

Soubi started to take all of the pictures down from the walls, putting them all into his bag. He flipped on Ritsuka's computer, curious to see if it held any clues. As it started up, he started looking through Ritsuka's desk drawers. The first was just writing utensils, but the next held files and a stack of very particular papers that wasn't in a files.

It was the only stack of papers not in the files and it was hidden towards the bottom of the drawer. Soubi curiously pulled it out, seeing that they were legal papers. He gasped. The first page was a paper for transferring legal guardianship of a minor. The first line below the title read _name of new guardian: _and right there in Ritsuka's handwriting was Soubi's name. _Agatsuma Soubi_ written on that first line.

_I was Ritsuka's back-up plan_, he thought, unable to take his eyes off the paper. Had he been planning to move in with Soubi? Soubi had offered many times, and would've signed the adoption papers if Ritsuka had ever brought them to him.

He put the papers in the bag, too, and started going through Ritsuka's computer. His documents were mainly just homework, so Soubi moved onto his internet history and search history. He found that Ritsuka had been researching how to be adopted by someone outside of the family. He also found out that Ritsuka had typed Soubi's name into a search engine quite a few times. There was nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing that would give Soubi clues about where Ritsuka was.

He moved to sit on Ritsuka's unmade bed. Sometimes, Ritsuka had mustered the courage to ask Soubi to stay over, even though they had to snuggle close together to both fit in Ritsuka's small bed. It brought back fond memories.

For the first time, Soubi noticed a framed photo of him and Ritsuka hugging on his bedside table. The picture wasn't taken long before Ritsuka disappeared. Soubi remembered that Ritsuka had asked him to make memories with him only three days before he had disappeared. They had gone to the park and Ritsuka had asked an older woman to take a picture of them. Ritsuka had surprised Soubi by throwing his arms around him. Soubi had returned to hug and the woman had taken the picture.

Soubi picked up the photo, smiling warmly at it, and slipped it in his bag. He took a couple of Ritsuka's books too, since they probably wouldn't make it all the way to the academy that night. They'd have to stop at a hotel in the morning so that they could sleep.

"Soubi!" Soubi heard Kiyoshi call from outside. "Hurry up!" He could hear Misaki shouting angrily inside. It was time to go. Grabbing his bag, he jumped the balcony, landing smoothly on the ground.

He nodded at him, "Let's go."

* * *

When Ritsuka awoke from another fitful sleep, he found another bowl of food, a large black notebook, a pencil, a pen, and a watch next to him. He glanced at the watch, noting that it was programmed to say 004 instead of the date. The time was 6:28 AM, meaning that when Seimei had raped him, it had been around midnight on day 003. He drew another line on the wall behind him and ate the food.

Nakahira had been able to convince Seimei to give him a notebook. He knew that it probably hadn't been easy, since it was entirely possible for Ritsuka to kill himself with either of the writing utensils. But Ritsuka wouldn't do that because, for some reason, he hadn't given up the hope that Soubi might be looking for him.

Maybe, just maybe, Soubi was out there right now trying his hardest to find him. Some tiny piece of Ritsuka believed that he was. The rest of him told that tiny part that it was impossible, since Soubi had every right _not _to go looking for him.

He picked up the notebook and the pen and began writing down every piece of information he could possibly think of about Soubi. He wasn't going to let him slip away. Not before he got the chance to tell him how he really felt.

* * *

Kiyoshi decided to drive. By the time they had gotten out of the suburb, snow was starting to come down in thick clumps. They drove for four hours until they had to stop at a lodge for somewhere to sleep. By then it was around six AM.

"It looks like we're staying here until tomorrow," Kiyoshi told Soubi, re-entering their room. Soubi stared blankly out the window, seeing nothing but white. It was just his luck. The onetime Soubi just _had_ to go somewhere he had ended up in a whiteout. He sat leaning on the head board on one of the twin beds, holding the adoption papers in his hand.

"What are those papers for?" Kiyoshi asked when Soubi didn't reply. Soubi tore his gaze away from the window, holding out the papers to Ritsuka's father. _He should know_, he thought, watching Kiyoshi's eyes widen as his eyes flickered over the paper. Most of the papers were filled out by Ritsuka except for the signatures. _He should know what he did._

"Was the abuse really that bad?" He inquired quietly.

Soubi nodded, refusing to talk to him. Despite having to work with him, Soubi was still angered by the fact that he never stopped Ritsuka's abuse.

"It's not like you were ever there to find out," Soubi muttered, loud enough for Kiyoshi to hear. Maybe the impact of Ritsuka being gone was really hitting him. Maybe it was the possibility that he might never see him again. Something was causing Soubi to go into some sort of mental breakdown.

"And you were?" Even though the remark would usually seem angry, Kiyoshi's voice held no rage.

"I was," Soubi snapped at him. "Ritsuka always refused to let me do anything. She would sometimes call him out from his room while I was there just to beat him. It was horrible to hear him getting beat and not be able to do anything about it. It was even worse to know that nobody else would stop her." He stood, snatching the papers out of Kiyoshi's hand, glaring at him. "And when I find him, I will fight you in court to make sure that he won't stay there anymore."

"There's no need," Kiyoshi stared at his feet. "I'll sign the papers."

* * *

**This fanfic is actually going better than I first planned. **

**The next chapter has a bit of fanservice in it, so no worries. **

**I like writing Soubi's view better than Ritsuka's, but I tend to work more on Ritsuka's to make it more interesting. Soubi's is easy because I all ready sort of have his part planned out, and Ritsuka's is a bit more vauge and unplanned.**

**Review if you like it and want more and I'll get the next chapter up in a couple days~!**

**~Wolfie  
**


	5. Day 005

**Day 005**

Ritsuka wrote until the watch said day 005, at which point he drew another line on the wall and took a nap. It was afternoon when he woke. His back was hurting again, as it had been periodically since he first woke up in hell. He opened his notebook again, looking at the twenty pages he had written about his Fighter.

The twenty pages were filled with random information and memories Ritsuka had shared with Soubi. Memories, good and bad. Everything Ritsuka knew about Soubi he had put down on paper, but he still felt like it wasn't enough. He wanted to do something else, but couldn't.

Ritsuka reached for the photo of them kissing and smiled. He thought about the feeling he had during that moment. He could remember with ease how Soubi felt pressed up close against him. He knew the feeling of his soft lips against Ritsuka's, his warm tongue slipping into Ritsuka's mouth…

"Ah…" Ritsuka felt all the heat in his body rush downwards to one place. _No…I can't do this here... Can I?_ He was a teenager with raging hormones. He really couldn't help it. _It's okay_, he told himself, thinking again of Soubi kissing him. He felt no shame of getting aroused by it, since it was normal, unlike getting turned on while being raped.

He imagined being on Soubi's bed, where most of his fantasies took place, with the man on top of him, kissing his neck, taking off the smaller male's shirt, kissing lower…

Ritsuka leaned his head back against the stone wall, moaning and closing his eyes. The jeans he had been given to wear were becoming tight around the crotch area. Ritsuka unbuttoned his shirt, imagining that it was Soubi doing it, and not him. He pinched his nipples, thinking of Soubi's talented mouth licking them. At this point he would undo the first button on Ritsuka's jeans. He would take off his own shirt at Ritsuka's pleading and kiss down Ritsuka's chest.

"Mmm," Ritsuka tried to keep from being very loud. He squirmed, moaning and undoing the button on his tight jeans, sliding them down his hips and legs. Soubi would look up and ask Ritsuka if he was alright and if he'd like to continue. Ritsuka would answer yes to both questions.

Ritsuka's breathing sped up as he pulled down his boxers, trying to do it how Soubi would. Soft moans fell from his lips as he stroked his hard cock, thinking of Soubi's long, pale fingers wrapping around his erection, bringing it to his lips.

"Soubi!" Ritsuka's whine was high-pitched so that he almost sounded female. He heard something in the background, but he was too far gone to care. He firmly grasped his member, pumping roughly, Soubi's name filling the silence in the form of moans.

"Seimei wanted you-!" Ritsuka heard a voice he recognized and opened his eyes. A man with a soft face stood in the doorway. The ceiling light was still on, so Ritsuka could see him clearly. He was tall with long black hair falling around his waist. Ritsuka knew who it was all too well. Nisei.

He laughed cruelly. "I'll just tell him you're busy," He said, backing up and closing the door.

Ritsuka continued, pleasure shooting through him as he pictured Soubi between his legs, sucking his cock. Ritsuka groaned, thrusting into his hand and placing his thumb at the slit. He lowered his other hand to press at his entrance, thinking of Soubi putting his fingers in him, preparing him for something much bigger while still sucking him off.

Ritsuka's thrusting became quicker and he put one finger inside himself, quickly followed by two and then three. It hurt, but it felt good, especially when he hit a special spot. Soubi would make sure he was ready before doing anything, unlike Seimei, who hadn't even asked if he was ready. Soubi would go slow, helping Ritsuka through all of it.

"Ahh," Ritsuka's breathy moan filled the room. "Soubi…" He was so close… just a little more and he'd be done. Pre-cum dripped off of the tip and onto the floor. After he was done preparing him and made sure Ritsuka was ready, he would take his mouth off of the teen's cock and line himself up with Ritsuka. He would push in slowly and…

"Soubi!" Ritsuka yelled, violently coming all over the place. The thought of Soubi inside of him had pushed him over the edge. It had felt good, too. Ritsuka sat back, pulling his fingers out and half smiling to himself. He glanced at the picture that had started everything and tucked it in the notebook, pulling his clothes back on. He felt suddenly tired again and laid back down, briefly wondering what Nisei had wanted when he came in.

* * *

"Soubi," Kiyoshi called from the doorway. "You've been in this room since we got here." Soubi didn't respond. The blizzard still held up outside, not showing any signs of letting up. It was already late afternoon. They had been there for more than a day, since they had stayed there the previous day when the whiteout had started.

Kiyoshi shook his head and left, probably going to eat dinner in the lodge's dining room. Soubi hadn't left the room since arriving. He was too caught up in everything. He didn't feel like leaving, or really doing anything. The adoption papers were next to him on the bed. Soubi picked them up, reading them for the hundredth time.

He just couldn't get over it. Ritsuka had filled out the papers, perhaps planning to move in with Soubi sometime soon. Was he going to leave his mother and live with him? Had he been waiting until the abuse got too much? Misaki's abuse had escalated to an almost breaking point in the past few months. Was that what had driven Ritsuka to filling out these adoption papers?

Soubi glanced around the tiny room. There were two twin beds, a desk, two nightstands, the large picture window, and a television. Soubi's eyes came to rest on Kiyoshi's laptop, which was on the desk.

The only reason Soubi didn't like Kiyoshi was that he was never there for Ritsuka. Other than that, he wasn't too bad of a person Soubi still saw what he did as unforgivable, though. At least he was showing remorse. And after what he said the previous day, Soubi hated him a little less…

Soubi couldn't help it. He knew there was something he could probably find on that laptop. He also knew he could probably find some things before Kiyoshi returned from getting food.

He made his way to the laptop and found that, like Ritsuka, Kiyoshi didn't have a password. The first thing he found was an email that Kiyoshi had been writing to Ritsu.

_Ritsu-_

_ Soubi seems to be going into some sort of mental breakdown… Don't you know about psychology? _

_ -Kiyoshi_

Soubi deleted the email, not wanting Kiyoshi to be able to send it. He didn't need Ritsu to know about his problems. He didn't even want to see the bastard. Maybe he would be able to get around talking to him…

He shut the laptop and went back to the bed, finding the framed picture. He looked at it for a long time. Did Ritsuka hate him? If he hated him then why had he kept all of the photos and why had he framed this one? It just didn't make sense…

"Maybe you should get out of this room," Kiyoshi said from the doorway.

Soubi didn't look at him, but was surprised that he hadn't heard him approach. "You need to stop doing that," He told him without a glance.

He heard Kiyoshi get his laptop and sit down on the other bed, "You should get some sleep. We're leaving as soon this storm lets up. The weather channel said it'll be done around two AM."

"…fine," Soubi grudgingly agreed. Sleep would clear his mind. He placed the framed photo on the bedside and quickly got ready for bed. He shut off the lights and silently settled into bed.

Ritsuka, Ritsuka, Ritsuka. That was all Soubi could think about. He remembered what he had woken up to the previous day. Was Ritsuka no longer a virgin? Were his ears and tail gone? Had Seimei taken them?

Seimei… Seimei had abused Soubi so much in a way he now understood was wrong. He didn't want to go back to that. It wasn't right. Seimei would punish him frequently. Anything Soubi would do wrong, he would be brutally beat for it. Seimei would force him to fight and do all of his dirty work for him.

And then there was Ritsuka. Sweet, soft Ritsuka… He was so gentle, so small. He refused to order Soubi around or even punish him. To Ritsuka, he wasn't a tool, but a person.

After a while, Soubi began to fall asleep. He didn't hear Kiyoshi get up, hadn't even registered that he was still awake.

"_Sleep, now_," A voice said. Soubi's mind struggled to realize that it was Kiyoshi speaking. "_Let the two who are thinking of each other share dreams. Let the dream be vivid. Let them both realize that they are in a dream_-!"

As soon as it went through Soubi's head that Kiyoshi was using a sleeping spell on him, he had blindly tackled him to the ground. He made Kiyoshi fall on his arm, injuring it by doing so. His head was spinning since the spell was already taking effect.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Soubi yelled, pinning Kiyoshi to the floor. "You bastard!"

"Calm down!" Kiyoshi tried to shove Soubi off of him. Even though Soubi was starting to lose consciousness and he was seeing double, he was still able to hold him off. "The spell is already done. I'll explain everything when you wake up."

Soubi didn't hear anything else before he collapsed into a deep sleep.

* * *

**oh look an update~!**

**I'm sorry it's late I got distracted with games like Robot Unicorn Attack and school work that I have and I've been working on Mind Maps a lot lately. **

**Anyways, review if you want more updates quicker!**

**~Wolfie  
**


	6. Day 006

**Holy crap, guys! I really want to thank you for all the wonderful reviews! I was extremely happy to get so many in such a short time! Keep reviewing!**

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* * *

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**Day 006**

_This is a dream…_ _I'm dreaming… _

When Soubi came to, he had two initial feelings. The first was that he was dreaming, the second was the sense that he was running out of time to do something important. He found himself seemingly alone in a forest's clearing. The stars shone above in the dark sky and the moon seemed oddly close and bright. Its light gave everything around Soubi an eerie glow and bathed everything in its light. The trees of the forest surrounded the clearing, forming a circle around it.

Something moved within the shadows of the forest across from Soubi. It rustled a little move, drawing his attention and cautiousness. He could make out its shadow, a short thin person who sat in a completely hunched over position. Soubi could hear it breathing hard and whispering words under its breath that he couldn't quite make out. He listened a bit harder, finding that they were muttering curses and not spells, as Soubi had suspected.

Soubi was in the middle of the big clearing, trying to decide whether or not to approach it when he found bright eyes suddenly staring at him. He stared back, knowing that he should recognize them, but the fog in his head prevented him from doing so.

"Soubi!" The person off in the distance yelled, running towards him. The fog suddenly cleared and Soubi recognized the voice before they had even broke through the shadows into the clearing. Ritsuka. Ritsuka was here. With him. In a dream.

_This is a dream…I'm dreaming…_

The spell. Kiyoshi had put a spell on him. This was a dream. This was not a dream. This was Ritsuka. Soubi and Ritsuka were sharing dreams. That meant that this Ritsuka was actually Ritsuka, and not Soubi's mind playing tricks on him. Ritsuka was truly here with him. Kiyoshi had forged a connection between their dream worlds.

Soubi knelt down, Ritsuka running into his outstretched arms. Soubi held him close against him. It felt so real. He could _feel_ Ritsuka and everything was so vivid.

Ritsuka's arms went around Soubi's neck, his head on his shoulder. Oh, how Soubi had missed holding him like this. He ran his hand through Ritsuka's silky black hair, half because he was looking for his ears and half just so he could feel him. Not to his surprise, he could feel no ears on Ritsuka. Ritsuka was returning his hug, only saying Soubi's name again and again.

This meant Soubi was right about three things. The most obvious one was that Ritsuka was alive. If Kiyoshi could connect them it meant Ritsuka was alive. The next was that his ears were gone, meaning that he'd had sex. Whether he consented to it or who it was were still only assumptions Soubi made. The last was that Ritsuka did not hate him, since he was hugging him back so tightly.

"Soubi," Ritsuka pulled away from him and Soubi got a good look at him. His hair was a mess and no ears poked out from the mounds of hair. Soubi was going to miss them, but Ritsuka was still unbelievably cute without them. He looked tired, as there were bags under his eyes, and in pain. His eyes, though, were filled with happiness. "Is this a dream?"

Soubi smiled at him, his arms loosely wrapped around the boy's waist. "Yes and no, Ritsuka," He answered. "It is a dream, but it's a spell, too. It connects us together so we can share information."

Ritsuka glanced down and he suddenly looked sad, "Do you hate me? Are you mad? I'm so sorry about what I said during our fight. You have every right to never want to see me again."

Hate him? Because of what Ritsuka said during the fight? Sure, it had made Soubi a little depressed to think that that may be what Ritsuka felt for him, but he wasn't _mad_. How could he get mad at little Ritsuka? Ritsuka probably just didn't understand how much Soubi loved him. A little fight like that couldn't make him love him any less.

"Of course not," He pulled Ritsuka a little closer to him. It felt so good to hold him again. Eight days. Eight days without hearing Ritsuka's voice or being able to hold him. It was torturous, but it was all worth this moment. "How can I be mad when I love you so much?"

Ritsuka opened his mouth as if to say something but Soubi put a finger to his lips. "I'm afraid we don't have much time. You need to tell me where you are." This was his chance to find Ritsuka. Any information would help.

Ritsuka thought for a moment. "I really don't know much about it," He confessed. "I know I'm in a really big basement. They keep me in a big room, but it's not the only room down here. I'm positive of that. There's a bathroom and I think there's some other rooms, too, where the other prisoners are kept. There's an upstairs, too, but I haven't been there yet. So far, I only know of three people who live here, but I'm sure that there's more. Are you looking for me?"

"Yes," Soubi looked right into Ritsuka's violet eyes. "And I will find you. I need their names. Is one of them Seimei?"

Ritsuka's eyes filled with tears and Soubi suddenly knew that it _was_ Seimei who had taken his ears. He had hit a sore spot, but Ritsuka had to answer it. It was a crucial question. Ritsuka put his head on Soubi's chest, his little arms hugging him tightly again. "Y-yes," He choked back a sob. Soubi held him as close as possible, trying to comfort him. "A-and there's Nisei and Nakahira, who t-takes care of me. Soubi," Ritsuka broke out into sobs. "Seimei took my ears…"

Seimei had raped Ritsuka, just as he had expected and Ritsuka was devastated over it. He cried into the shirt Soubi was wearing. The older man held Ritsuka, rocking him back and forth. "It's okay, Ritsuka," Soubi murmured into his ears. "I'm going to find you, I promise." He pressed his lips to the boy's needing to feel close to him before waking up again.

* * *

"Wake up! Soubi!" Kiyoshi was shaking him awake. Soubi sat up, holding his head. He felt like he was still half-asleep. _It must be the effects of the spell._

"What," Soubi started, glaring at Kiyoshi, who looked to be in pain and was clutching his arm. "Did you do to me?"

Kiyoshi smiled for the first time. "It…was a spell," He told him. "It connects the dream world and the normal world together for two people. That was actually Ritsuka, not a fragment of your mind. He saw the exact same thing that you did. There's only one catch. As you can see," Kiyoshi raised the hand that had been holding his arm. It had dark crimson blood on it. "It significantly weakens me."

Soubi realized that that had probably been from him since he had attacked him before passing out. "Has that been bleeding since I attacked you?"

Kiyoshi nodded. "On and off," He stated, holding his arm again. "We have to leave soon. The storm is starting to let up."

"Yeah," Soubi agreed. He dug through his bag, searching for the medical kit. Once he found it, he shoved it at Kiyoshi. "Use that and get packed."

* * *

_What a weird dream_, Ritsuka thought. Everything had seemed so real. He had been able to feel everything and could remember every detail of it. Ritsuka wrote down the strange dream in his notebook and checked the watch. One AM on day 006. Almost a week now. He scratched another tally into the wall and then wondered about the dream again.

Soubi had looked so worried. He had held Ritsuka tightly against him, as if he hadn't wanted to let go. He had said that he didn't hate Ritsuka, that he loved him and was looking for him. He had asked Ritsuka where he was. Ritsuka hadn't been able to give a good answer since, besides when Nakahira gave him a bath, he had never been outside of the dungeon. It was a big dungeon, though, and the bathroom had to be on the same floor since Nakahira hadn't carried Ritsuka up any stairs.

Ritsuka had also heard footsteps from above on numerous occasions. That meant that there was more than one floor. Ritsuka also suspected that there were other prisoners besides him.

The door creaked open again and someone entered. The lights were turned off, so he couldn't see. Ritsuka shrunk back in fear. What if Nisei had told Seimei about his earlier activities? He probably had and Seimei was coming to make sure he never did it again.

"Relax, Ritsuka," The person said. "It's just me." They sat down across from Ritsuka, and he saw that it was Nakahira. "I brought you something."

Ritsuka calmed down, trying to make his erratic heartbeat slow down. Nakahira reached into his jacket and produced a headband with two black fake ears resting on top. Nakahira put into place on his head.

"I know you probably feel bad about your ears," He explained, smiling at Ritsuka. "I thought this might help you feel better."

Ritsuka reached up to touch the ears. To his surprise, they flicked at his touch. "What…?"

"They're motion, sound, and hear sensitive. They're supposed to act like real ears."

Ritsuka smiled. They felt real and did help him feel a little better. "Thank you," He said happily.

"Sure," Nakahira patted him on the head again. "It didn't go over well with Seimei at first, but I got him to agree."

Ritsuka was quiet for awhile. He thought of some of the things Soubi had asked him in the dream. He hadn't known much about the place he was in. "There are more prisoners than us, aren't there?"

Nakahira seemed shocked by the question, but solemnly nodded. "They are people that…got in Seimei's way."

"Seimei's way?" Ritsuka repeated. Nakahira nodded again, his blue eyes clouding over. "Okay, what are Seimei's motives?"

Nakahira's tail twitched and he looked behind him as if checking if something was there. "I'm not sure if I should be telling you this, but…" His voice dropped to a whisper. "I believe you need to know. Seimei plans to take down the people with a warrant to kill him, Septimal Moon." Ritsuka opened his mouth to ask what Septimal Moon was, since Soubi was never able to tell him, but Nakahira made a sharp hissing noise.

"If you talk, the camera will catch your mouth moving. Seimei has someone who can read mouths. Don't talk, write," Nakahira pushed Ritsuka's notebook towards him.

Ritsuka opened it to a page without writing and wrote down the question _What is Septimal Moon?_

"Septimal moon," Nakahira continued in his hushed tone. "Is the organization that governs the Fighter and Sacrifice world. There are many all over the world. Seimei was kicked off of the board after the rest of them found out about his frequent killings and dark ways. He faked his death and then worked in secret to take them down."

Ritsuka stared at him, wide-eyed and quickly wrote another question _Is Seimei going to kill me?_

"No," Nakahira answered without hesitation. "You're different. He wants you on his side. He wants you here with him. His plans are going into full action, now, and he needed to procure you."

Suddenly scared, Ritsuka scribbled down the next question _What happened that night at Seven Voices?_

"That night?" Nakahira looked a bit confused. "Oh, _that _night. Seimei went to distract you while Bloodless stole a bunch of data from them."

Ritsuka started to write another question, but Nakahira gently pushed his hand back. "I'm already in enough trouble," He told him sincerely. "It there anything else you'd like to talk about?"

"There's someone I really miss," Ritsuka drew his knees to his chest, frowning sadly.

"Who is it?" Nakahira's voice returned to its normal, kind tone.

In response, Ritsuka pulled out the photo of him and Soubi kissing from his notebook. "Him," He said simply.

"That explains a lot," Nakahira commented. "The captives that I have taken care of… they usually attach to something of someone they miss." He glanced pointedly at Soubi's coat. "In your case it's his coat."

"I'm afraid I'll forget him," Ritsuka admitted. "I wrote down everything I could about him in that notebook, but it's still not enough. He's the only thing I can hold on to. If I lose the memory of him…I really think I'll have lost the will to live."

Nakahira touched his lips thoughtfully, "I wonder… Ritsuka, is this man your Fighter?"

Ritsuka nodded yes, "Well, he was Seimei's but now he's mine. I… I think I love him."

Nakahira looked half shocked and half confused, "Nisei is Seimei's Fighter…" He looked back at the picture, which was now on the notebook. "I assume that his name is on his neck? He's probably a blank Fighter."

"What's that mean?"

"It means," Nakahira sighed. "That any name can be written on them."

* * *

Soubi had decided to drive the rest of the way, since Kiyoshi was still extremely weak from the spell. Soubi had offered to use a healing spell on him while he slept, but Kiyoshi had refused, saying that it wouldn't work.

To his own surprise, Soubi had been acting a bit friendlier towards Ritsuka's father. Up until now, Kiyoshi really hadn't shown any want to find his son. The spell had changed that. Soubi understood that he hadn't told him he was going to use it because expecting it would've made the spell much weaker. For once, Kiyoshi hadn't acted out of selfishness, but out of the want to help find his son.

Snow still fell, but it was nothing like the blizzard before. Although it was around three in the morning, most of the roads were plowed. It was about four hours into the long drive. Kiyoshi had slept the entire duration of the trip, and Soubi didn't expect him to awaken.

When Soubi stopped the car for the first time in four hours to get gas, his phone rang.

"Hello?" He answered, just coming out of the building where he had paid and into the freezing cold.

"Stop looking for Ritsuka," A voice snarled. Was that…? Of course. It was Nisei, Seimei's new Fighter and the person who took care of all of Seimei's dirty work. Nisei was the person that Soubi hated with every part of his being. He had already resolved to kill him.

"Why should I?" He growled. He wanted to kill him. He wanted to strangle Nisei now more than ever. Who was he to tell Soubi what to do? "I'm going to keep looking until I find him."

"Seimei orders you to stop looking," Nisei laughed. His laugh was cruel, as he probably took joy in the pain those words caused Soubi.

Soubi had to do what Seimei said. Usually orders, even if not direct, as this one wasn't, made him stop whatever he was doing and listen. Something made him not want to obey, though. Perhaps, the bond between he and Seimei was starting to break.

"If he wants me to stop looking, why doesn't he tell me himself?" He shot back. He hung up abruptly and went back in the car, shaking Kiyoshi awake.

"What?" The brown-haired man said, coming to. "What is it?"

"Nisei just called me," Soubi told him, not realizing that Kiyoshi didn't know who Nisei was.

"Who's that?" Kiyoshi asked, slurring his words a little. He held onto his arm, an expression of pain coming onto his face.

"Seimei's actual Fighter," Soubi answered. Maybe that was the reason he hated Nisei so much. Seimei had left Soubi for him. It made sense. Soubi was better than him, though. He could beat him in a fight or a spell battle any day.

"He spied on Ritsuka before?" Kiyoshi had obviously picked that out of his memories. Soubi really couldn't stand Kiyoshi when he did that. It was annoying to have someone around who could tell what he was thinking all the time. Despite this, Soubi didn't censor his thoughts at all.

"I beat the crap out of him for doing it," Soubi smirked, remembering how he'd easily smashed the man's listening equipment. Nisei had provoked him with talking bad about Ritsuka and Soubi had lost it, punching Nisei hard enough to leave a huge mark on the side of his face.

Kiyoshi made a sudden hiss of pain and gripped his arm tighter. "Hey," He looked weak, taking Soubi aback. "Did they have any alcohol in there?"

Soubi's shocked gaze turned into a glare. "There is no way in hell," He started, drawing his words out slowly and keeping his voice at a deeper tone than usual. "That I am going to let you drink." Was this man insane? Ritsuka hated him because of his drinking problems. How could he be so oblivious to it? "Ritsuka hated you because you drank so much," He muttered as he started to drive again.

"He did?" Kiyoshi seemed surprised. "I never had more than a few. You can't tell me you don't drink."

_Liar_. Soubi remembered one instance where Ritsuka had needed his help with his father. It had been a few days before their big fight, on a weekend where Soubi hadn't been able to visit Ritsuka until late at night. Ritsuka had welcomed him in. Soubi had sensed something wrong with Ritsuka. Upon being asked, Ritsuka preceded to tell Soubi how much he hated his own father. Soubi had wanted to comfort him, one thing had led to another and Soubi and Ritsuka had ended up making out on the bed. A loud _thump_ followed by many others had interrupted them. It turned out that Kiyoshi had drank to much, fell down the stairs, and passed out somewhere in between. Soubi had helped Ritsuka move his father, but it was the time he had started to have Kiyoshi.

"I wish…" Kiyoshi began after a couple more hours of driving. "I wish I had been a better father…" He was looking down and his voice shook as he said the words. "God... if we don't find him, I don't think I'll ever forgive myself. You'll take better care of him than I ever will."

_I'll probably kill myself if I can't find him_, Soubi thought. That was wrong, actually. He wouldn't kill himself. He'd just keep on trying to find Ritsuka until he was killed.

* * *

**How's that for an update?**

**As I said before, I was so happy about all the reviews that I wanted to update really quickly. Originally, the dream part was about 500 hundred words, but then I saw how much you guys were looking forward to it so I jazzed it up a bit. I hope I haven't disappointed you. **

**So, the next chapter is really one that stuff starts to happen in. Review, and I'll get it up in a day or so~!**

**THANK yoU ALL SO MUCH *hugs everyone of you* I LOVE YOU ALL**

**~Wolfie  
**


	7. Day 007

**Day 007**

Ritsuka coughed, pausing from writing to hack. When he withdrew his hand, blood stained it in tiny spots. His back hurt a lot and he assumed he was getting quite sick. He had become accustomed to the three dead bodies in the dungeon with him, although they were beginning to stink. Ritsuka coughed more, starting to bring up more blood. He pushed Soubi's coat to the floor, not wanting to get blood on it. The liquid splattered on several of the notebook pages, too.

For the past two days Ritsuka had been wondering why Seimei hadn't punished him yet for masturbating to thoughts of Soubi. He found it odd since it seemed so unlike this new Seimei to not punish Ritsuka for something like it.

This new Seimei was nothing like the older brother Ritsuka had thought he had known. He was so mean. Ritsuka didn't like that. Ritsuka didn't like him. Seimei killed people. He hurt Soubi. He killed in vain. He had forced Soubi into obeying his every command. Ritsuka had seen the scars on Soubi's body. He didn't need to be told it was what Seimei had done.

Ritsuka didn't love Seimei. He had, but ever since getting kidnapped he had started to think about everything Seimei had done. He was disgusted. He didn't want to forgive his brother, especially when Seimei had taken his ears.

After a few more minutes of endlessly coughing, Ritsuka heard the door open and promptly stopped, his ears standing straight up.

"Hello, Ritsuka," Seimei's dark, velvety voice greeted. Ritsuka whimpered as Seimei came closer, kneeling in front of him. "It seems you have been a little lonely when I was gone, Ritsuka. I'll have you know I watched you touch yourself. Who were you thinking of, Ritsuka?" He put his hand on Ritsuka's chin, tilting his head up and forcing him to look into his eyes.

"Certainly not you!" Ritsuka snapped, getting up the courage to do so.

"Then, who, Ritsuka?" Seimei's eyes were a dark purple. They scared Ritsuka. He wanted to run away from Seimei, but those eyes kept him in, freezing him to the spot.

"You know damn well who!" Ritsuka was shocked at all the anger that came out. The next thing that came he did not expect, though.

Seimei's hand lashed out, slapping Ritsuka across the face. Ritsuka hit his head on the stone wall and fell to the floor on his stomach from the recoil. He shut his eyes tightly as Seimei climbed on top of him, straddling his hips. He grabbed onto Ritsuka's hair, shoving the boy's face down onto the concrete.

"Sei-Seimei?" Ritsuka cried out, trying to raise his head again. Seimei slammed his skull back down, keeping it there with his hand.

"You will not speak to me in that way," Seimei growled into his ear. Ritsuka tried not to squirm even though he was being painfully held down. "How can you think about that _dog_ and get aroused? That's disgusting. Didn't I teach you better?"

"Please…Seimei… Don't talk about him like that…" Ritsuka managed. Seimei's hand just pressed harder, if possible.

"Tell me you love me," Seimei's voice was low and in his ears, almost sounding like a feral growl. "Tell me why you thought of _it_ in such a disgusting, sick manner."

"I love him!" Ritsuka yelled out, almost crying. He didn't love Seimei, he loved Soubi. The man was the one person who really cared about him in some un-messed up way. Just thinking about him made Ritsuka feel better.

Seimei froze suddenly, his large body going rigid on top of Ritsuka. He slowly lifted himself off of the younger brother. He sat on the floor, resting his head against the wall, breathing heavily as Ritsuka watched him curiously.

"Ritsuka," He breathed, seeming to have calmed down quite a bit. "Soubi's dead."

* * *

"I'm sorry sir, but you're going to have to leave," The receptionist told Soubi. Seven Voices academy was made to look like a 20 floor hotel. The only way to get in was to go through the front door, which led to a large reception area. The cover for normal passer bys was that the 'hotel' was full. When a graduate came, they would just give their name and the trained receptionist would look them up.

The school was huge. One tower was for the student's dorms and some classrooms. Set back in the back of the fenced in large grounds was the rest of the school and the tall Septimal Moon building.

Kiyoshi waited on one of the soft plush couches, watching Soubi with an amused look. Another snow storm had hit, slowing the drive down a lot. They had arrived to the town near Seven Voices and Soubi had insisted they stay there. Kiyoshi was still extremely weak and, well, Soubi just wasn't ready to face Ritsu yet. They had driven the rest of the short distance mid-morning.

"Agatsuma Soubi," Soubi leaned over saying his name in a low voice. He knew that the secretary wouldn't have to look him up, since Soubi was quite infamous around the school. He was supposedly the best Fighter who had graduated from the school, one of the only people to graduate at 17, and also the top student of his time. As expected, she recognized his name.

"Who will be accompanying you, Agatsuma-san?" She questioned, looking towards Kiyoshi, who smiled and waved.

"That nuisance would be Aoyagi Kiyoshi," He told her, making sure Kiyoshi heard the nuisance part. She recognized him, too, since she looked at Soubi in shock. "Just assign us a temporary dorm and arrange a meeting with the Seven Moons as soon as possible."

"Yes, Agatsuma-san." She typed away at her computer. "You're in room 589, as is Aoyagi."

Soubi nodded to Kiyoshi, who got up and followed Soubi, struggling with the bags. They rode the elevator up five floors and silently found their room. It looked just like any other room in the school. The furniture was an off white and consisted of two twin beds, two desks and bedside tables, and shelves above the bed. Soubi took the bed near the wall with the only window. He remembered that even though Ritsu made it so that Soubi didn't have to, but almost everyone had to share a room with someone.

"How are you feeling?" He asked as he began to unpack. He pulled the framed picture of himself and Ritsuka and set it on the bedside table.

"I'll heal," Was Kiyoshi's simple reply as he went into the full bathroom to check his arm wound.

"You'll heal quicker if you'd just let me do a healing spell," Soubi suggested.

"No," Kiyoshi rejected firmly. "How long has it been since you were here last? It's been years for me."

Soubi thought back to taking Ritsuka to Seven Voices. It wasn't a good memory, but he felt that it had brought them closer. "A couple months ago," He came up with after trying to count back the months. "Ritsuka wanted to come, so I brought him. It was when we found out about Seimei." He sat on the bed, picking the picture frame up and looking at it. Ritsuka's sweet smile shone through the glass, back at Soubi. He felt close to crying again, something he hadn't done in years.

Kiyoshi came out of the bathroom, looking like he was going to say something, but caught sight of the picture frame in Soubi's hands. The tears were starting to fall silently. He hated it. His crying was a sign of weakness, as Ritsu had called it. He looked up at Kiyoshi, unable to mask his own feelings.

"Get the hell out," Soubi ordered him. Kiyoshi nodded, exiting through the door. Soubi returned to looking at the picture, thinking of how much he would give to see that smiling face again. He would give up everything to see Ritsuka alive and well again. Soubi couldn't stop the tears from falling, now. It felt so weak to be doing it, but he missed Ritsuka so much. It had been nine days, now. Nine days wasted. Ritsuka could be on the brink of death now.

_Please just hold on, Ritsuka_, he closed his eyes, willing himself to wake up from this nightmare. Ritsuka had been taken. Ritsuka had been taken by his brother. Nisei's call had confirmed that. Soubi's connection to Seimei was being severed. Would he be able to fight? To disobey? To save Ritsuka?

Seimei was probably brainwashing him. It was something that Seimei did to torture his victims. He would lie until they trusted him and then take away the one thing that made them to hold on to life. This was different, though. Seimei would take everything away so that Ritsuka would only have him left. Soubi needed to get to him before that.

_Hold on, Ritsuka_, he thought again. _And don't believe anything Seimei tells you._

_

* * *

_

Ritsuka stared at his older brother, his words registering. His eyes went wide and filled with tears. He felt his entire body start to shake, tremors shaking his body badly. He knelt on the floor, unable to take his eyes off of Seimei. Soubi was…dead?

"No!" Ritsuka yelled. "You promised you wouldn't do anything to him!" Ritsuka's voice was loud and high-pitched, echoing in the dungeon. He grabbed onto Seimei's shirt collar, knowing he was risking getting hit again. Seimei gave no objections, even as Ritsuka shouted at him, "You're lying! Tell me it's not true!"

Soubi couldn't be dead. He just couldn't be! He was the only thing Ritsuka had left to hold on to. Without him…Ritsuka just wanted to die. He had wanted to live with him, to be with him whenever he could. Even though Ritsuka had lost his ears to Seimei, he had still wanted Soubi to take him when they reunited. Most of all, he had wanted to say 'I love you' to him just once.

None of that would be possible, now. Ritsuka had hoped to be saved by Soubi eventually. He was going to stay here with his despicable older brother until he died- or committed suicide. The way Seimei was looking at him with sincerity and understanding made Ritsuka believe him.

"He got in my way," Seimei said, putting a hand on Ritsuka's shoulder as Ritsuka let go of him. Ritsuka was close to him, but he wanted to get as far away as possible from Seimei. "I had him killed. He was looking for you."

That was when Ritsuka hit him. He reeled back, hitting Seimei as hard as he could. His fist contacted hard with his face and loud wails now echoed the room, all coming from Ritsuka. Seimei jerked backwards at Ritsuka's sudden move, obviously shocked. He cringed, rubbing his face where Ritsuka had punched him.

Ritsuka breathed hard, his mind going completely blank. His head suddenly snapped up and he glared angrily at Seimei, who was slumped against the wall. "You killed him," Ritsuka hissed.

"No, Ritsuka-!"

"You gave the order," Ritsuka snapped, cutting him off. "You gave the order to kill him. I hate you!" Ritsuka's fists pounded against Seimei's chest. Seimei didn't do anything about it. Ritsuka continued, sobbing, until he fell into his brother's chest. He felt arms encircle around him and violently pulled back. The only arms he wanted to feel were Soubi's strong arms around him, holding him close to his heart.

"Stop crying, Ritsuka," Seimei told him softly with none of the anger from before. He reached for Ritsuka, but stopped when Ritsuka quickly scooted backwards. "Ritsuka, please, understand-!"

"You bastard!" Ritsuka cried. This… He hated Seimei. How could he do this? How could he kill the one person Ritsuka cared about the most?

Soubi had been looking for Ritsuka. He had been trying to find Ritsuka and Seimei had killed him. He had died for Ritsuka. This was Ritsuka's fault. Ritsuka was the reason Soubi was dead.

Crying soon turned into coughing. Ritsuka's stomach lurched with sadness and with sickness. He retched, throwing up blood on the floor. His head spun and Ritsuka felt suddenly confused. He grabbed onto the nearest object, burying his face into the soft fur of Soubi's coat. He breathed in the familiar scent, passing out with his Fighter's scent still lingering in his nose.

* * *

Soubi wiped his eyes, trying to regain composure. _I wonder what you'd say if you saw me like this…_ Soubi thought with a small smile. He still held the picture in his hands, smiling sadly at it. He blinked away the remainder of the tears, still embarrassed, especially since Kiyoshi had seen him. Hell, he was probably laughing at him right now.

A knock sounded at the door after awhile. "Can I come in?" Kiyoshi asked softly.

"Yeah," Soubi answered, placing the picture frame back on the bedside table. They were going to be staying here for awhile, since it was rendezvous point to meet with Septimal Moon. As much as Soubi hated to admit it, he wasn't going to be able to find Ritsuka without their help.

"The Septimal Moon board said they'd meet with us in thirty minutes. Ritsu seemed glad you came," Kiyoshi informed him as he finished unpacking his small bag.

"We should probably go now, then. I don't know if they've cleared a pathway to the building yet."

Once again, the two grown men found themselves trudging through the freezing snow together. Students who were out stared at them and some even pointed at Soubi and whispered franticly to one another. Kiyoshi lead Soubi to the building set in the back of the school beyond the courtyard. It was a large building, almost as big as the dorm/main building. It housed the staff, the meeting rooms, offices, lawyers, officials, anything to do with Septimal Moon.

Septimal Moon was a huge organization that kept law over the entire Fighter and Sacrifice world. The one that Soubi had graduated from was the only one in Japan. The seven officials worked closely with the government and kept rule over the Fighters and Sacrifices.

Ritsu was waiting for Soubi and Kiyoshi on the first floor of the atrium. His usual sexual comments directed towards Soubi were oddly absent. He said a small hello, not even smiling at Soubi, and led them to the elevator and up fourteen floors to the Septimal Moon meeting place.

"We could only get Nagisa and Seven here, since the others had gone missing," Ritsu said as they reached the conference room. His tone held no expression but Soubi saw how tired and stressed out he looked. "We suspect that they have been taken by Seimei," He told them as he led them inside. Both Nagisa and Seven looked the same way Ritsu did. Papers covered the entire conference table, most not even in files.

"Even Kaidou?" Kiyoshi questioned, taking Soubi by surprise when he said his friend's name.

"What are you talking about?" Soubi grabbed his shoulder, getting Kiyoshi to turn around a bit. "Kio's not on the board. He's normal."

"What?" Kiyoshi looked genuinely confused.

"Kaidou Kio," Soubi realized that he had just introduced Kio as 'Kio' and hadn't told him his last name.

"I forgot to tell you, Soubi," Ritsu sat down at the head of the table, by Nagisa. "Your friend Kio is the son of one of the former Septimal Moon members. His younger sister is on the board right now."

"That isn't possible," Soubi shook his head. "Kio's parents are still around. He doesn't have a sister. And I've met all of the Septimal Moon members."

"No you haven't," Ritsu corrected. "You've met _almost_ all the members. Kaidou-chan gave her only daughter to be the heir to her position when she retired. Your friend probably knows nothing of her. Anyways, on to the issue with Ritsuka."

In merely five minutes, Ritsu had managed to make Soubi want to kill him all over again. He had 'forgotten' to tell him to tell him that Soubi's previously completely normal friend was connected to Septimal Moon. Why was all this coming out now?

"In the nine days Ritsuka has been missing," Seven started. "We've contacted every government agency. None have any information. All of Ritsuka's records have been taken or destroyed."

"It's as if he never existed," Ritsu finished for her.

Septimal Moon worked closely with the government, even though the common population didn't know they existed. Officials that were high up knew about them, but all information was classified. The first Fighters and Sacrifices were a government experiment.

"We've figured that it's Seimei doing this," Kiyoshi stated.

"You two are working together now?" Ritsu sounded amused. "I never would have imagined."

Nagisa cleared her throat, shooting a glare at Soubi. She hated him for reasons he couldn't quite figure out. "We've worked out two choices that could help us find Ritsuka," She stated boldly.

Ritsu stood, looking directly at Soubi again, "There are too many places Seimei could be hiding Ritsuka. He has too many people on his side. Either you fake your own death or we this out of proportion and get it all over the media."

* * *

**I'm sorry for not updating as quick as last time!**

**Seriously, I am.**

**I got distracted by...Portal. I played through it TWICE yesterday. Too bad I only have the demo. AND I got a Vocaloid CD yesterday, too. It came with a poster, too X3**

**So in this chapter, stuff actually starts to happen! When I looked back at this chapter, I realized 'Oh shit, Ritsu's blind. I forgot.' so I had to change some stuffs.**

**Thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews! I never expected this story to get attention like this! *passes out cookies to all the reviewers***

**Keep reviewing and I'll update soon!**

**~Wolfie**

**P.s: I don't have Robot Unicorn attack on my phone because I have a blackberry but I wish I could get it.  
**


	8. Day 008

**Day 008**

Ritsuka was overwhelmed with the feelings of extreme depression and sickness when his mind came to in the morning. Without opening his eyes, he rolled over, finding himself oddly comfortable and surrounded by warmth. He was on a plush mattress, covered by pillows and warm from the layers and layers of blankets he felt piled on him. He was definitely on a bed. Perhaps it was his own bed and the entire week of being trapped with dead bodies and his brother raping him was all just one big nightmare. Ritsuka curled up tighter and clutched what he held in his hands closer, feeling fur brush against his face.

Ritsuka's eyes shot open as he realized why he was so depressed. Seimei had given the order to somebody- probably Nisei- to kill Soubi. The one person Ritsuka really wanted to see was dead. What was worse was that, Soubi had probably thought Ritsuka hated him. Ritsuka had never even been able to tell Soubi his feelings for him.

_How long have I loved him?_ Ritsuka wondered, trying to break the fog that clouded over his mind. He knew he'd loved Soubi for a long time, he just hadn't realized it until a few days ago. _I guess you really don't know what you have until it's gone_, Ritsuka thought, remembering the old saying. He pushed his nose into the coat again, taking in Soubi's distinct scent.

For a long while Ritsuka laid in bed, attempting to pinpoint the exact time he's fallen for Soubi. There was that first kiss in the park, but that wasn't it. After that, Soubi had asked Ritsuka to pierce his ears. That was when they started bonding. Up until then, Ritsuka had shut him out, not wanting anything to do with him. Maybe it was when Soubi had followed Ritsuka to the amusement park, after Ritsuka told him not to. That was when Ritsuka had started to notice how much he missed Soubi when he wasn't around. Ritsuka felt a bit happy at remembering that time, since he recalled Soubi wanting him to go on the Ferris wheel with him. Ritsuka had given in eventually. On the Ferris wheel, at Ritsuka's begging, Soubi had finally began to tell Ritsuka about himself.

After that, they had really started to talk. Ritsuka had learned a lot about Soubi. He knew almost all of his likes and dislikes, something he later learned Seimei had never allowed him to have. There was one time after the entire Seven Voices ordeal when Soubi had whispered 'you really make me feel alive, Ritsuka' late one night. No, it was before the entire Seven Voices ordeal that Ritsuka had fallen in love with Soubi.

There was the time they'd first slept in the same bed together. It had been right before Soubi had taken Ritsuka out to see Septimal Moon. It was when Ritsuka Ritsuka's mother had drenched him with freezing water and then thrown him outside into the cold fall air. Soubi had apparently been on his way to Ritsuka's house when he'd heard Ritsuka's yells from down the street and had come running. Ritsuka was shaking from the cold and, by then, was trying to get up the balcony since he had left his key inside and Misaki had locked the doors.

Soubi had used the key Ritsuka had given him to open the door and carry Ritsuka inside. Misaki had locked herself in her room, so Soubi was free to enter through the front door. He had taken Ritsuka up to his room and had told him to just lay still. He had bandaged Ritsuka's wounds and had been extremely careful not to hurt Ritsuka. He also tried to warm him up a little by hugging him tightly afterwards. Ritsuka had tried not to cry, but had ended up doing so since his mother had said pretty nasty things to him. Soubi had held Ritsuka's shivering body against him, murmuring sweet words into his ears.

Ritsuka was the one to ask if Soubi would stay over. He had agreed and, of course, had asked if Ritsuka would like him to sleep on the floor. Ritsuka had quickly told him no, that it was terrible for his back, and told him to sleep with him. Soubi had gotten into the bed first and had offered his arms out to him. Ritsuka had accepted, crawling into the small bed next to him. He had quickly fallen asleep after settling down with Soubi's arms around him.

No, that wasn't it, either, but it was close. He had already loved Soubi, then. It had been…when Soubi had come to him acting strangely when Misaki tied Ritsuka up. Yeah, that was it. It was when Ritsuka saw how young and broken Soubi really was.

Ritsuka waited a while longer until finally sitting up. When he did, he found himself in a big room that looked like a bedroom. He lay in a large canopy bed with red curtains and covers. Across from the bed was a dark oak dresser with a mirror attached. A tall oak bookcase, filled with books was pushed up against the east wall. The walls were painted a dark red, which matched the carpet perfectly. Two doors that looked exactly alike stood opposite each other, one on the west wall and the other on the east. The west door had a large keyhole lock on it. On the bedside table were Ritsuka's notebook, the photos, the fake cat ears, a tray of food, and a note. Ritsuka reached over picking the note up and unfolding it.

_My dearest Ritsuka,_

_ I hope you like your room. I will becoming by later to check on you. Nakahira will most likely be by there beforehand. Please do not wait up for me._

_ Love,_

_ Seimei_

Something fell out of the paper and into Ritsuka's lap. Ritsuka curiously picked it up, letting out a cry and dropping it when he realized it was one of Soubi's butterfly earrings. He put it and the note back on the table, trying not to cry again.

_ What's the point?_ Soubi had died. Ritsuka didn't even have a reason to live. Why shouldn't he be able to cry?

Still, the tears refused to come, so Ritsuka picked up the tray of food. He inspected it, looking for any traces of drugs.

"I can save you the trouble," A person said, coming into the room. Ritsuka recognized them as Nakahira. He locked the door, sticking He nodded to the tray of food, "It's laced with medication for the flu strain you have."

Ritsuka cleared his throat, attempting to find his voice, "There's no anti-depressants in it?" His voice had come out sounding very sad and sort of like a squeak, too.

"No," Nakahira answered, frowning slightly. "I know because I'm the one who tested you for the strain of the flu and put the medication in it. Seimei was worried that you had something worse, so he made me test you."

"Will the medication _do_ anything to me?" Ritsuka questioned further.

"It won't do anything except make you sleepy again." When Ritsuka gave him another suspicious look, he went on, "I created the drug in there. Seimei doesn't allow any medications from the outside in."

Ritsuka gaped at him, putting his misery aside for a moment. "You're…a scientist?" He exclaimed.

Nakahira seemed to relax a little, even smiling a little, "I guess. Nisei usually just calls me a lab monkey. He has those kinds of nicknames for everyone."

Then it must have been Nisei who had photographed Ritsuka and Soubi and wrote on the backs of all the photos. Soubi had been referred to as 'the lunatic' in every picture. Soubi _had_ broken Nisei's finger with his bare hands, so it was sort of understandable.

"What's wrong, Ritsuka?" He asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.

And suddenly, Ritsuka fell completely apart. He was reduced to a sobbing mess again, unable to stop. Tears ran down his face and his crying was loud. He tried to regain control, but failed. He put his face in his hands, turning to dive underneath the covers so that Nakahira wouldn't see him like this. It was as if there a hole torn wide in his heart and all of his sadness was coming out in the form of tears.

"My god…" Nakahira was saying. "Seimei killed him, didn't he?"

Ritsuka could only nod, hoping Nakahira could see even though Ritsuka was underneath the covers. He had nothing. He was all alone. Ritsuka had nothing more to live for.

* * *

"Soubi."

Soubi narrowed his eyes at Kiyoshi, looking up at him when he said his name. Soubi sat on his bed, sketching in a book he had brought with him. His hair was up in an attempt to keep it out of his eyes. He glared at Kiyoshi, trying to figure out why he was staring at him so particularly. Finally, when Kiyoshi didn't say anything he growled, "What?"

"Are your ears pierced?" Kiyoshi had been reading on his bed but was now staring at Soubi.

Soubi stopped glaring at him and went back to his sketch. "Yes," He said, letting the irritation seep into his voice. He was trying to tune Kiyoshi out so that he could think about the choice he had to make. Drawing usually helped, but not when the only thing that came out on the paper was Ritsuka.

"Are both your ears pierced?" Kiyoshi pressed.

"Yes. Why the hell are you asking me this?" Soubi was extremely annoyed at Kiyoshi. He needed more than anything to think and review the choice he had to make. He glared at him again, willing him to get out.

"One of your earrings is missing," Kiyoshi stated simply. Soubi immediately felt his ears, finding one of his earrings missing.

"It must have fallen out," Soubi explained, closing his sketch book. He got off the bed, starting to pace the length of the room. He could either fake his own death, as Seimei had…or create an entire fake cover-up. He couldn't think. It was just too much. Ritsuka's life lay in the balance of this one decision. He could barely believe that Ritsu actually left it up to him.

Kiyoshi still hadn't taken his eyes off of him. "Faking your own death makes you just like Seimei," Kiyoshi began slowly. Soubi stopped pacing, listening to him for once. "But it makes it so that he won't know you're alive and we can look for Ritsuka in secret. He won't be expecting me to help, so he'll think no one is looking except Septimal Moon. On the downside, you won't be able to go out in public, everyone except for Septimal Moon will think you're dead, Seimei will make sure _everyone_ knows, and it'll take longer to find Ritsuka."

"And on the other side?" Soubi couldn't think at all. At least Kiyoshi could keep his mind in a situation like this.

"On the other side," Kiyoshi paused for a moment, probably to think. "We get a wide-scale search going. We'll be able to find Ritsuka much quicker, then. We'll be able to call in help from other units across the country- maybe even worldwide. The downside is you won't be able to go out in public with Ritsuka for a few months and Seimei will probably be trying to kill you."

Neither talked for a long time. Soubi's mind was racing as he tried to weigh out all the pros and cons. This was a choice he couldn't make so easily. Why couldn't it just be easy?

* * *

"Ritsuka," Seimei's voice was soft and almost…kind. It brought Ritsuka back to the edge of consciousness. "Ritsuka, baby, wake up." A hand was brushing the hair out of his eyes, pushing his bangs to the side of his face. It sort of reminded Ritsuka of the old Seimei. He could feel the man next to him, laying beside Ritsuka. Ritsuka clutched Soubi's coat tighter against him, remembering that there was no 'old Seimei'.

Ritsuka felt Seimei put something on his head and recognized the weight of the fake cat ears. He opened his eyes, poking his head out of the covers to see his brother laying on his side propped up on one arm. Seimei was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, instead of the formal clothing that he had been wearing both times when Ritsuka saw him before. Ritsuka could almost believe that it wasn't the animal that had raped and attacked him.

"That's better," And there was that smile that Ritsuka used to see all the time. "You're a mess, little Ritsuka." He pulled something from the back pocket of his jeans. "Nisei found this on the floor of your room," He held it out to Ritsuka, who took it and looked at it carefully.

It was the photo of Soubi that Ritsuka had never let him see. It was the picture that made Ritsuka's face go a deep shade of red. The photo was of Soubi standing in a doorway, a half-frown half-scowl set on his face. The bandages around his neck loose, just above his black t-shirt. It was one of the most attractive pictures Ritsuka had of him. He remembered that Soubi had either been talking to Kio or Natsou and Youji when Ritsuka had shocked him by taking the photo.

"Thank you," Ritsuka whispered, coming further out of the covers.

"I thought you would like it," Seimei stroked his hair lightly. "I'm so sorry, Ritsuka."

Seimei _sounded_ sorry. Ritsuka _almost_ wanted to trust him. Seimei was such a liar. He wasn't sorry. He was happy that Soubi was dead and out of the way. Soubi had been looking for Ritsuka and had paid the price of his life for it. It reduced Ritsuka to a shivering mess of tears whenever he thought of it.

Now, he couldn't snap at Seimei, or even say anything to him or he would burst into tears. He sat up a little holding the picture of Soubi in both hands. He loved the picture since it was completely un-posed. He sniffled, closing his eyes tightly and trying to bring up a memory of something happier. He tried until Seimei gently took the photo from his hands, setting it on the bedside table.

"I miss him, Seimei," Ritsuka choked back the tears. He wanted Seimei to know the pain he was putting Ritsuka through.

Ritsuka looked to see an extremely quick flicker of emotion in Seimei's deep purple, almost back eyes. "Why don't you let me give you a bath, Ritsuka?" Seimei sounded like he was trying to be happy for Ritsuka's sake.

Ritsuka thought of how good the water would feel on his skin, but he didn't say anything. He didn't want to feel Seimei's hands touching him all over. He felt so sick, though. He really didn't think he'd be able to bathe himself because he could barely move his aching body. His eyes even drifted shut while Seimei went through the unlocked door and began running bath water.

Before he knew it, Ritsuka was being lifted, striped, and set down in warm, comforting water. He let out a sigh as it surrounded him, opening his eyes a little to find himself in a large bathroom in a white tub. Seimei had gone out of the room to get a towel, leaving Ritsuka in a tub nearly full of water alone.

The first thought that crossed Ritsuka's mind since waking up with Seimei beside him was that that drug had definitely created another fog over Ritsuka's mind. He sat back in the tub, contemplating suicide. What if he did it? He could do it right now. He could probably stop his own heart before Seimei could even come back. Something made him not do it, though. Something deep in his heart kept him alive, even though he'd seemingly died on the inside.

"I'm back," Seimei came back in the bathroom with a fluffy looking towel and wash-cloth. He didn't say another word as he dipped the cloth into the water and lathered it with soap. He began with Ritsuka's back, and worked to his chest. He was gentle, but it didn't feel right. Seimei's fingers were rougher and calloused, nothing like Soubi's long, soft fingers.

It really shocked Ritsuka that Seimei had actually gotten down on his knees to give Ritsuka his bath. He knew that Seimei thought himself above everybody except for Ritsuka, but this seemed so below him to do this.

Even though it wasn't right, it felt nice. Seimei washed his entire body without a word. He wasn't rough at all and knew what parts of Ritsuka's body to go easier on. Ritsuka sat through it all with his eyes half closed, not daring to move. When Seimei was done he wrapped Ritsuka in the fluffy towel and carried him back into the bedroom. Ritsuka let him lay him down on the bed and didn't move as he dried him off. He felt Seimei move away again, only to come back a second later and lean over him, his lips brushing Ritsuka's.

For the next hour or so Seimei took advantage of Ritsuka's naked body, touching him and kissing him wherever he pleased. Seimei seemed to grow frustrated, though, since he wasn't even getting a reaction out of Ritsuka. Finally, he gave up and put a pair of pajamas on Ritsuka.

"Are you leaving now?" Ritsuka's voice sounded hoarse.

Seimei looked at Ritsuka for a long time before answering, "Yes. Get some rest, Ritsuka."

* * *

Soubi stood out on the dorm room's balcony, smoking again. Night was falling all around him and the moon was high up in the sky, glowing brightly. It was another cold night, but Soubi didn't expect it to start snowing again any time soon.

This time he heard Kiyoshi approach, but he didn't turn to look at the other man even as he came to lean on the railing next him. "You have to chose," He said softly.

"Can't you just go away for awhile?" Soubi retorted, running a hand through his hair and blowing smoke in the air.

"No," Kiyoshi shot back. "Chose now."

_Fuck!_ Kiyoshi was right. Soubi had to choose now, or never. "Fine…" He gave one last thought to the situation, finally realizing which one was better. Of course! Why the hell hadn't he seen it earlier? "Let's feed the media a fake story."

Beside him, Kiyoshi grinned, "I'll go tell Ritsu to schedule a press conference."

"Wait," Soubi grabbed his arm before he could leave. "You mind telling me how the hell we're going to pull this off?" _When did 'I' become 'we'? _He wondered for a moment. _When did I start thinking of us as a team?_

Kiyoshi just shrugged, an arrogant grin still on his face, "Give me some credit, would you? I'm a lawyer. I can play the media any way I want. I'm a genius when it comes to blowing up a story in the face of the media."

Soubi put his cigarette out, "Alright, let's go, smartass."

* * *

**Thanks for all the reviews! They really give me inspiration!  
**

**Sorry for the late update! I've had a lot on my mind. I hope I haven't disappointed at all. I was going to put this chapter up earlier but I had to go in for an MRI.**

**AND I'VE BEEN DISTRACTED BY GAMES. Amnesia: The Dark Descent is really freaking creepy. BUT ITS ADDICTING.**

**THAT'S ALL.**

**Oh, and review and I'll put the next chapter up ASAP.**

**~Wolfie  
**


	9. Day 013

**Day 013**

For four days Soubi and Kiyoshi worked with Ritsu and a bunch of others to create a solid cover. They needed a story that would capture sympathy from those who would see it. They needed something that would make it on the cover of every newspaper in Tokyo, something that would be so huge and devastating that people wouldn't have any choice _but _to pay attention to it. The cover they ended up creating was not wholly a lie. There were many truths incorporated in it, such as Seimei being a serial killer and some things that Seimei did to Soubi.

Then there were parts that had to be revised, such as Soubi's relationship with Ritsuka. He would be arrested if he told the media about it. They also couldn't say anything about the world of Septimal Moon and Fighters and Sacrifices or chaos would break out. They had to play it safe, but also give away enough for other units to come forward to help.

The cover was that Ritsuka had been on a ten day trip with another group of friends and when he hadn't come home on the eleventh day Kiyoshi and Soubi, a family friend, had gotten worried and called the chaperones of the trip. They had said that Ritsuka had cancelled. That was the simple part of the cover. Then came the harder to memorize, more complicated part of the story.

Soubi's part was by far the hardest to come up with. They had to make it something that nobody could object to. Since Kio was the only person Soubi had, for the most part, ever bonded with, he was the only one who knew anything about Soubi's past. He knew about Ritsuka's disappearance, though, so he wouldn't give any objections. Others might challenge Soubi though, others that had seen him acting 'friendly' with Ritsuka or hanging around Seimei.

The story was that Soubi had started dating Seimei, a boy three years younger than him. He had began to pick up on Seimei's strange behaviors not long into the relationship. When Seimei introduced Soubi to the rest of his intermediate family, Soubi had started to bond with his little brother Ritsuka. After a couple months, Seimei let Soubi in on the killings and forced him to not tell, saying he'd kill everybody he was close to if he told anybody. After a year, Seimei faked his death. Soubi continued his friendship with Ritsuka and grew close to him.

Neither Soubi or Ritsuka had known until Seimei contacted them with the sinister message of 'Ritsuka I'm back' written in blood on a piece of paper sent to Ritsuka. This part of the cover had been taken from the time Seimei had gorged out Ritsu's eyes and written the repulsive message on one of the school walls, something that still made Soubi shudder.

From there, Soubi had warned Ritsuka of Seimei's crimes. Ritsuka hadn't listened though. Soubi had also advised him against the trip that Ritsuka had supposedly taken, saying that it'd be an easy opportunity to snatch him.

The first and second day, Soubi and Kiyoshi had both stayed up almost all night working with Septimal Moon, government officials, and others from Seven Voices. Seimei was a global threat. He had the power to expose everything, to kill everything everyone had worked so hard to conceal. Seimei had great power. The government officials were wary about lying to everyone, but someone of a higher power had said it had to be done. They needed to find Seimei and Ritsuka before Seimei could do anything.

Soubi slept most of the morning on the third day. Kiyoshi had shaken him awake sometime around noon and they had worked until night to memorize their covers. On the fourth day, they were questioned all day by teachers and others that Soubi didn't know to see if they had their act down.

Soubi glanced at the clock on the bedside table, noting that it was after two am on the fifth day. Despite the long hours of trying to get his story down, he was unable to fall asleep. Ritsu had called a press conference another five days from now. He had somehow gotten every news station to agree to come without even telling them anything of Ritsuka's disappearance.

Soubi sat up in the small bed, looking at the pictures he had tacked up on the wall. He wondered what Seimei had done to him besides take his ears. Surely he wouldn't just stop at that. He would take everything away from Ritsuka so that the boy would only have him left.

Upon trying to go back to sleep again, Soubi found himself unable to concentrate about any one thing. He worried about Kio, Natsou and Youji, and most of all, Ritsuka. Somewhere in all this worrying he found himself drifting off to sleep.

* * *

For four days, Seimei desperately tried to arouse Ritsuka. Ritsuka let him, laying there, looking off to the side with far, far away eyes as he let his brother put his touch, lick, and suck anywhere he wanted. He came in his room every night to give Ritsuka a bath and then perform sexual acts on him. It never worked, though. At least Seimei didn't fuck him.

Ritsuka was so depressed that he actually made himself sicker. He laid in the big bed, day after day, trying to grasp the reality that Soubi was dead. It was impossible to do so, though. He didn't _want_ to grasp the reality. When he didn't feel like sleeping, Ritsuka would stare at the picture Seimei had given him or sit in the corner by the window.

On the fifth day, though, Ritsuka finally snapped out of it.

Ritsuka listened closely, hearing light footsteps coming down the hallway towards Ritsuka's room. It had to be Nakahira. It was morning. Seimei only came at night and he was always silent when he did.

"What…?" Ritsuka heard Nakahira say from just behind the door. There was the sudden sound of fleshing being hit hard and a heavy _thump_ noise.

"You idiot," A voice that belonged to Seimei said angrily. "You didn't think I would find out everything you told him. I just watched through those tapes." There was another smacking sound and Ritsuka shrunk back under the covers, assuming that his brother had just back handed Nakahira.

"Seimei, please," Nakahira was talking loudly and fast, as if he thought that Seimei was going to kill him. "Really, I thought he needed to know-!"

"That is for me to tell him," Seimei growled. There was a small clicking sound and then a strangled scream of pain from Nakahira. "I didn't think I would have to forbid you to not tell him, too."

"I…" Nakahira sounded like he was in a lot of pain. His voice still came out strong, though. "I can't believe you told him that the one person he cares about is dead." _Whack_. This time it sounded like Seimei had full-on punched him.

"Shut up, you stupid lab rat!" Seimei raged loudly. "If you don't keep quiet, he'll hear."

"He'll be asleep due to all the pain you caused him!" This time almost as soon as Nakahira was done there was some rustling and another loud _thump_ as if Seimei had tackled Nakahira to the ground. Ritsuka ran to the bathroom, covering his ears and sitting on the tile against the door.

"Ritsuka?" After a while Seimei came in, probably expecting to find Ritsuka in bed. "Where are you, Ritsuka?"

Ritsuka opened the door, standing in the doorway. He was furious at Seimei. He was the maddest he'd ever been. Seimei hadn't wanted him to know the truth at all. He had wanted him to keep living in the darkness. From Nakahira and Seimei's exchange Ritsuka even suspected Seimei of lying about Soubi. Previously, Ritsuka had thought that Seimei would never do that, but now Ritsuka didn't hold it above him.

"…Ritsuka?" Seimei looked into Ritsuka's eyes, his face slightly confused.

Ritsuka glared at his brother. Then, suddenly, all of the anger just came out of him. "Get out!" He yelled, pointing at the door. Seimei stepped back, seeming quite surprised by Ritsuka's outburst. "Get the hell out! For the past four days you've been fucking _molesting _me without any consideration to how sick I've been or how I've been taking the fact that Soubi's _dead_! Can't you just leave me alone and let me grieve for him?"

Seimei still looked shocked at how Ritsuka had completely lost it. The little brother stood in the doorway, breathing hard. _He's going to hit me again_, one side of Ritsuka's mind told him. _He's going to attack me and rape me again. Why can't I just shut up? _

"Ritsuka, I-" Seimei started before stopping himself. He took a step towards Ritsuka, an almost desperate look on his face. "I love you."

That sent Ritsuka over the edge. Ritsuka knew that Seimei wanted, no, expected, Ritsuka to say it back. "No!" Ritsuka screamed, his voice raised a couple octaves. "I hate you! You kidnap me, rape me, kill my Fighter, and molest me right after telling me? What kind of sick person are you? You don't even want me to know the truth! I hate you! I don't even want to talk to you!" He slammed the bathroom door, leaning against it, leaving Seimei in the room with an astonished look on his face.

The next time Seimei tried to visit Ritsuka was later that night. As soon as he came in the room and quietly shut the door, Ritsuka buried his head under one of the pillows on the bed and threw another one at Seimei. From the sound it made, he could assume it hit him right in the face. Seimei sighed and Ritsuka felt the bed dip under his weight as he sat on the end of it. For a while, he did absolutely nothing, which made Ritsuka slightly happy, except for the fact that he could still hear Seimei breathing. Actually, it was that Seimei _was_ breathing, meaning he was alive.

"I guess you're still mad at me, huh, baby brother?" He finally said after so long Ritsuka had begun to drift off to sleep.

Ritsuka felt like throwing another pillow again. He didn't, but he thought of how good it felt when he'd punched Seimei right after finding out that Soubi was dead. Oh, how he'd love to do that now. "You're not my brother," He muttered, loud enough so that Seimei could hear.

Another long pause. "We'll always be brothers. We'll always be blood related. There's nothing you can do about that. I'm sorry. About everything."

"Like hell you are," Ritsuka retorted. After yet another pause he felt Seimei move so that he was laying next to Ritsuka. He snapped something cold and hard onto Ritsuka's neck. The teen sat up, defensively latching his hands onto the metal collar. He flailed, pulling and yanking at it in a sad attempt to get it off. It was loose enough not to choke him, but not loose enough to get off. The latch on the back didn't budge, though, and Ritsuka's animalistic attempt to get it off was useless.

"It's not coming off," Seimei confirmed, amusement obvious in his voice. Ritsuka fell back against the bed, breathing hard and tired from his useless flailing. "I'll get Nakahira to show you around tomorrow after his face recovers a little."

The anger returned suddenly, the rage making Ritsuka want to shove his fists into his face and beat him to a bloody pulp, just as Seimei had tried to do to Nakahira. Of course he couldn't, since Seimei was so much bigger than he was, but he still wanted to do it. He turned away from his brother, afraid that if Seimei saw the look on his face he would hit Ritsuka again. "Why'd you hit him?" Ritsuka hissed.

"Because, Ritsuka," Seimei's tone was evil, malevolent, and he moved behind Ritsuka. He was so close Ritsuka could feel his hot breath on his neck. "You are only supposed to know the truth that I tell you, and nothing more. Everything and anything that I tell you goes and is regarded as the truth. You are to believe anything and everything I tell you. You are to question none of it."

_"Don't believe everything Seimei says, Ritsuka…"_ Soubi. Soubi had said those words to him.

_"Didn't I tell you to shut up?" _Seimei had snapped at Soubi to shut up. Had there been…a tone of surprise in his voice? Desperation?

_"Let Ritsuka think for himself." _Soubi had said it both to Seimei and Ritsuka. _Don't believe everything Seimei says_. _Let him think for himself_. Seimei wanted Ritsuka at his side. Ritsuka didn't want to be at his side. How far would Seimei go to get Ritsuka there? He expected Ritsuka to believe every word he said, and up until now he had been dumb enough to do so. God, he was such an idiot. Why hadn't he seen this earlier? If Ritsuka believed everything Seimei said, why not fabricate information? If he took everything important away from Ritsuka, then the only person he would have left was him. Ritsuka would only have Seimei to run to.

"I won't believe anything you say anymore," Ritsuka sneered, turning towards Seimei. This man who hit him, raped him, kidnapped him, molested him had perhaps done one more thing to add to the list; lied to him. "You lied to me about Soubi, didn't you?"

Seimei shook his head slowly. "I didn't lie," He stated, his voice barely a whisper. He repeated it, "I didn't lie, Ritsuka." His voice rose to a level that sounded as if he was trying to keep from yelling, "He's dead. I'm sorry, Ritsuka, but he's dead. Get over it. Get over him. He loved you. He loved you like nothing else. He loved you more than he ever loved me, but he's dead now. You need to get over it. There's somebody I'd like you to meet."

Ritsuka was up and backing himself up against the east wall, trying to get as far away from Seimei as possible. "I don't want to meet anyone, goddammit!" He yelled angrily. "I want you to explain to me exactly what's going on _right now_. No lying. If you lie, I'll find out and…" Ritsuka took a deep breath, trying to keep the fear out of his tone. "I'll hang myself with the collar." His voice carried on without shaking and came on strong.

He had cornered Seimei. If Seimei didn't tell the truth, Ritsuka would kill himself. If Seimei lied and Ritsuka found out Ritsuka would kill himself. If he found out. Ritsuka realized that that was a problem, but maybe it would still scare Seimei into telling the truth. He was bluffing, but there was a good chance that Seimei would buy it.

Seimei's eyes narrowed at him and Ritsuka suddenly couldn't read his expression. He had never seen Seimei like this, and he suspected Seimei had never cornered like this. He remembered Nakahira saying that Seimei would never kill him, so that was out of the question. Ritsuka was getting used to this new Seimei. He was beginning to see how he thought. This new Seimei would have usually killed his victim for demanding the truth. He wouldn't kill Ritsuka, though.

"Tomorrow," Seimei finally agreed. "I swear I'll tell everything tomorrow."

* * *

**For some reason I imagine Ritsuka trashing around with his collar like this: **http:/ www. mangafox .com/manga/ hatsune_mix/v01/c001/5 .html **(remove the spaces) **

**I hope you didn't mind the little time skip.  
**

**Oh yes, I knew there'd be confusion about the timelines, though I tried to make it better with the entire earring scene. To clear up all confusion, they are happening at the same time. I REFUSE TO MAKE THIS LIKE LOST LOL. **

**So, I came down with a horrible cold right after my MRI. i still have it D:**

**OH! And Tuesday is Soubi's birthday! 3 Anybody know how old he'll be?**

**Thanks for the reviews! Keep it coming! I can't believe this is getting more reviews than Mind Maps! **

**Please keep reviewing!I'll try to update by Tuesday!  
**

**~Wolfie  
**


	10. Day 014

**Day 014**

"They want to kick you out of the university," Kio informed Soubi over the phone the morning of the sixteenth day that Ritsuka had been missing.

"What?" The staff couldn't do that. They couldn't just drop Soubi from all classes without formal warning in writing. Of course, the dean of his class really had something against him, but that didn't mean he could kick him out of the school.

"Our dean says you've been missing too much school," Kio responded, sighing. "Soubi, I-!"

"Just tell him I'm taking a formal leave of absence," Soubi interrupted him. "I'll send him an email as soon as I can."

Kio was silent for a while on the other end. Soubi had thought that he had hung up and was about to do so himself when Kio spoke up, "How's the search for Ritsuka going? I'm worried…so is Natsou and Youji." Soubi had left Kio to look after Natsou and Youji.

Soubi smirked, "Watch the news in four days and tell me what you think."

"Watch the news…" Kio repeated, sounding dumbfounded. "What channel? What time?"

"Any time, any channel," With that Soubi hung up. He had thought about telling Kio of what Ritsu had told him about his family. He had decided against it, though thinking that he would tell his friend soon, just not now.

Kiyoshi was out at the moment, probably getting breakfast from somewhere. Soubi had found himself acting less spiteful towards him. Kiyoshi was showing a want to find Ritsuka almost as much as Soubi did. He was working hard on their cover, just as Soubi was. He was still blunt, rude, and quite sarcastic towards Kiyoshi, but that was just his normal attitude towards people in general. That, and he still hadn't quite forgiven him.

Soubi was looking through his call history when he found Nisei's number. _I_ _wonder if he'd answer if I called him…?_ It was then that his thoughts drifted to the phone he had given Ritsuka. He hadn't found it in the boy's room when he'd searched it. Had Seimei taken it? What would happen if he tried to call it? If it was picked up, who would pick it up?

* * *

Ritsuka woke up late in the evening the next day with somebody's hands under his shirt playing with his nipples. He groaned, knowing he should kick Soubi out of bed, but _damn_ it actually felt good. He had been having a dream about him, and he was almost positive that it had been a wet dream because the sheets were damp and he felt a bit aroused. He knew that even though he didn't remember the dream now, he would later.

"Good morning, dear Ritsuka. How did the sleeping medication work for you?" Wait. That voice didn't belong to Soubi. And the hands…the hands that were now travelling over his skin felt rough and calloused.

It all came back to him, then. He wasn't at home or in bed with Soubi; he had been kidnapped by his own brother. Soubi was dead and it was probably Seimei trying to molest Ritsuka again.

Ritsuka sat up, finding his lower half completely exposed and quickly moved to cover himself with the sheet. Seimei sat on the other side of the bed, chuckling slightly. Ritsuka glared at him, knowing that Seimei had probably been touching him in other places below his nipples before he woke up.

"Get out," Ritsuka turned away from him, stretching, all feelings of arousal gone. His mind felt a bit foggy but the aching was momentarily subdued. He stood, pulling the T-shirt down so that it covered everything down to mid thigh. For the first time since he'd been in the room, he went over to the dresser, looking in the long mirror on top of it. The boy that stared back at him looked like Ritsuka, but it didn't at the same time.

In the two weeks Ritsuka had been kidnapped he hadn't changed much, but the chances that had occurred were very noticeable. He was very pale, probably from the sickness that he'd been having. His ears were gone and mounds of dark hair took their place. His bangs covered his eyes and his hair had grown a bit longer. There was a large bruise from where Seimei had hit him and attacked him six days previous. He seemed…older. He had always been mature for his age, but he felt, and looked, older now.

"It's not very nice to talk to your brother like that, Ritsuka," Seimei came up behind him, leaning down and brushing his lips against his neck. "You actually responded when I touched you this morning."

Ritsuka turned around, placing his hands on Seimei's chest and shoving him away. "I wasn't responding to _you_," Ritsuka sneered. He no longer cared if he got hit; he just wanted Seimei to go away. "I was dreaming about Soubi."

Seimei stepped away from Ritsuka, holding his hands out in defeat. "I know. You were saying his name. You had a wet dream about a dead man, Ritsuka?"

"It wasn't like I could _do _anything about it since you gave me sleeping medication." Ritsuka huffed, turning back to the mirror and pulling at the metal collar around his neck. He could see Seimei's unreadable expression behind him. Ritsuka knew that he hadn't been expecting Ritsuka to act to coldly to him when he kidnapped him. After a few minutes of pulling at the collar thoughtfully and watching Seimei out of the corner of his eye, Ritsuka finally knew what he wanted.

"I want proof," Ritsuka faced him, meeting his older brother's evil looking eyes.

"Proof of what, brother?" Seimei smirked maliciously. "Anything you want, I can get it for you."

Ritsuka didn't hesitate with his answer, not even dropping Seimei's gaze, "I want proof that Soubi's dead."

* * *

"What are you thinking?" Kiyoshi questioned from the desk he was working at. Soubi had been ignoring him ever since he had gotten back from getting food. Soubi was trying to draw again, but still nothing came out on the paper that didn't remind him of Ritsuka. He had finally given in and was drawing a detailed picture of the teen.

"Don't you see the irony in that question?" Soubi muttered, concentrating hard on his sketch. He could sense Kiyoshi's eyes on him and figured that he was probably reading his thoughts. Soubi hadn't called the Ritsuka's phone but was still debating over it. Seimei or Nisei were the two most likely to answer. Then there was that other person that Ritsuka had mentioned, Nakahira.

"I do," Soubi heard Kiyoshi approaching him, but still didn't look up. The older man leaned over him, looking at what Soubi had drawn so far. "You're good. I can already tell that it's him." He watched him draw for a few minutes before speaking again, "It can't hurt to call."

"Yes it can."

"Your bond with him is breaking," Kiyoshi stated, sensing Soubi's distress. He wanted to avoid talking to Seimei at all costs. He knew he couldn't put it off forever, but he didn't want to do it now. "You should do it. For Ritsuka. Any sort of information helps."

If it was for Ritsuka, Soubi would do anything. He nodded in agreement and started to dial Ritsuka's phone number, but Kiyoshi grabbed his wrist suddenly. "What the hell-?" Soubi started to say, stopping when he saw Kiyoshi grinning like a mad man.

"Let's trace the call," Kiyoshi said. "Let's go get Ritsu, Nagisa, and Seven and trace the call."

* * *

Ritsuka held his brother's intimidating gaze for a long time. He wasn't going to back down. There was no way to tell if Seimei was lying about Soubi. His little speech the night before had sounded sincere, but Seimei was a deceiving liar. Soubi had told Ritsuka not to believe everything Seimei said. Ritsuka would believe Soubi's word over Seimei's any day.

Of course, that wasn't how it always was. Up until meeting up with Seimei at Seven Voices, one of the words Ritsuka would have described Soubi with would be 'liar'. It wasn't that way now, though. At the academy, Ritsuka had seen just how much power Seimei still had over him. Soubi hadn't wanted to break the window and allow for Seimei's escape. He hadn't wanted to help him at all. Soubi had hesitated, though, and Ritsuka had been proud of him for being able to, if only for a second. Seimei had complete control over Soubi, whether the Fighter liked it or not. He couldn't disobey Seimei.

At one point, not long before Ritsuka got kidnapped, Soubi had told Ritsuka that he was sorry that he couldn't tell him everything he knew about Seimei and Septimal Moon. He wanted to, but he couldn't. He hadn't been lying then, either. His scars had bled excessively throughout that night, showing that it was going against his name and that he meant it. In fact, Soubi almost never lied about anything except for what he knew about Septimal Moon.

"You want…proof," Seimei repeated back at Ritsuka slowly.

Rage flared up in Ritsuka again, overtaking his entire being. How could Seimei not understand what he wanted? "Yes," He tried desperately to keep from yelling. "I want to-!"

A sharp ringtone sounded, cutting him off. Ritsuka recognized it immediately. It was his ringtone. From his phone. The one that only played when Soubi was calling Ritsuka.

Seimei's eyes went wide with shock as he registered what was happening. He started to say some curse, but didn't get the entire thing out before Ritsuka jumped at him.

Before Ritsuka knew it, he had closed the gap between he and his older brother by tackling the older boy to the ground. Ritsuka was small, sick, and weak, but he was fast and had the element of surprise. He was blind with anger and didn't really know what he was doing. All he knew was that there were large hands pushing at him and that he had to get to the source of the music playing.

Seimei shoved at Ritsuka, trying to push the boy off. They were on the floor, Ritsuka on top of Seimei, darting through all of his attempts to grab the half-naked teen. It all happened very quickly, but it felt like a long time for Ritsuka. At one point, somewhere during the middle of the song, Seimei had Ritsuka on his stomach and knelt over him, arms on either side of the smaller, trying to catch his breath. Ritsuka darted out from underneath him, twisting around to grab at Seimei's dark gray jacket. He pulled at it, finally locating the phone in one of the pockets.

"Soubi?" He said franticly into the speaker. He just needed to know that he was alive. He didn't know what to believe. Had Seimei lied to him? Was the voice on the other line going to be one of Seimei's henchmen or some random person? If it was, why had Seimei fought him for the phone?

And there it was, that voice that Ritsuka had longed to hear for two weeks and had thought he'd never hear again for the past week. It was a single word, not even a phrase, but it was unmistakenably said by _him_, "Ritsuka?"

Ritsuka's name said by Soubi, the man who Ritsuka had thought to have been dead, was the last thing he heard before a thousand bolts of electricity emanated from the collar Ritsuka wore around his neck. It wasn't long before his screams stopped and he was out cold on the floor.

* * *

Soubi sat with Seven at a large control board with many buttons and cords connecting to computers spread out on it. It was late at night, because it was well- known that Seimei often operated at night. Seven wore a large pair of headphones, as did Kiyoshi. Ritsu stood behind Soubi, not making a sound as he did. Kiyoshi and Seven worked two computers. Kiyoshi recorded the call and Seven traced it.

What was left of Septimal Moon had agreed immediately when Soubi had told them of what he and Kiyoshi had planned to do. Nagisa hadn't been able to come, but Soubi was okay with that since she was just annoying anyways.

"Ready?" Seven asked. She had hooked up his phone to another device and had given Soubi a headset with a microphone attached.

Soubi nodded, wordlessly. They all knew there was a high chance Seimei had disconnected the phone or even left it on the street somewhere. Seven had said even if nobody picked up the phone she would still be able to get a general idea of where it was, but Soubi had the feeling she was unsure Seimei had kept Ritsuka's phone.

Soubi was connected. One ring, two rings, three, four, five. Soubi was beginning to lose hope when a breathless voice suddenly answered.

"Soubi?" Soubi was in a state of shock for a moment. Ritsuka. Ritsuka had answered. Ritsuka was alive. He stared wide-eyed at Seven's computer screen, where as the seconds ticked by, she traced the call.

"Ritsuka?" Soubi answered, without thinking. Why couldn't he have thought of anything more intelligible to say? Something like 'stay on the line' or 'where are you' would have probably been a lot more helpful.

As soon as Soubi was about to say something there was the sound of electricity connecting with flesh on the other line. "Ritsuka?" Soubi said anxiously. A high-pitched scream sounded, obviously belonging to Ritsuka. "Ritsuka?" He tried again, this time more scared than anything. The screaming stopped and another voice came onto the other line.

"Hello, Soubi. It's been awhile, hasn't it?" Seimei. This confirmed everything. Ritsuka had probably fought Seimei for his cell once he heard it ringing, which had resulted in Seimei somehow electrocuting him. "You just ruined my hard work," Seimei's voice sounded mocking and condescending. Soubi's breath picked up and he realized he was standing, bracing himself with his hands against the long control panel. If he let go, he was afraid he was going to fall. He and Seimei were the only two in the room right now. He knew that the others were there, but his mind really didn't register them. Seimei's voice was surrounding him, taking over anything. Soubi didn't want it. He didn't want to go back to that. He couldn't.

"You know, Ritsuka thought you were dead for an entire week," Seimei continued.

Something in that sentence snapped Soubi out of his breakdown state. "You told him I was _dead_?" He hissed, hearing a short gasp from Seven and seeing Kiyoshi look at him in shock. He had never spoken to Seimei in that way before, never dared to. Something had broken between them. Something, or some_one_, had caused it to break. This breaking, thinning out bond had broken because of Ritsuka. It allowed Soubi to speak to Seimei in a way his mind had kept him from doing so before.

"What's that I hear in your voice?" Seimei was playing his mind games on him now. "Is that anger? How dare you speak to me in that tone of voice? Who do you think you are? You've lost sight of where you came from. You're mine, Soubi, you'll always _be_ mine. Go punish yourself right now for speaking to me in such a way. That is an order."

"I don't take orders from you." Those were Soubi's last words before throwing the headset to the ground, smashing it easily with his foot, and walking out the door without another word.

* * *

**Today is Soubi's birthday! :D **

**I give you...an update! I really like this chapter because of how that last part turned out. **

**I can't really say much more because I have to go to school now...**

**BUT I LOVE YOU, MY REVIEWERS.**

**keep on reviewing, and I'll put up the next part in a day or two. **

**~Wolfie**

**EDIT: I made a mistake with the time frames. corrected it.  
**


	11. Day 015 part 1

**Day 015**

**_part 1_  
**

Soubi found himself somewhere he had discovered as a child when he actually attended the school. It was a small pond hidden deep in the forest just west of the school. The other end of the forest marked the end of the school grounds, but no one ever ventured that far into the dark woods. No one except Soubi, that is.

He had been lonely as a child. He had almost no friends because he was, and still is, a loner. Everyone knew of his affiliation with Ritsu, even before he lost his ears. He had been the smartest in his class, not just at fighting but at every subject. If he had gotten even a B on a test, Ritsu would treat him worse than usual, which meant he'd end up with more injuries. He learned quickly to study and work harder than everyone else.

Being at the top of his class had caused other kids to stray away from Soubi, especially in his early years at the academy. He had started when he was four and had been fighting for about sixteen years now. His personality was also another cause for being a loner. He was often blunt and could easily point out flaws and analyze mistakes. He watched people and learned how they acted, how if one person did something, the others would either follow, make some variation of it, or rebel. There was always a leader, too, an alpha. And there was always the outcast, the one who sat and watched everyone else, the omega.

Thus, he came to be quite a jerk to other people. He hated stupid people. Most people were overly stupid and needed labels to keep them from spilling hot coffee on themselves, for example. Soubi came up with this at an early age and found it to be quite true.

For most of his school years he kept mostly to himself. Other people bothered him too much. During his teenage years, Soubi attracted many girls and even some guys for some reason, but he knew what Ritsu would do to him if he caught him with somebody. He turned many people down and eventually just resolved to going to secluded areas where people wouldn't be able to find him. Places like a pond deep in the woods.

Soubi sat in the branches of the high oak tree, easily balancing himself with years of practice. He was on one of the lowest branches, as far out on it as his weight would let him be. This had been his favorite spot to sit in his free time. This particular branch was about fifteen feet off the ground, and hung directly over the pond. He remembered falling in quite a few times when he had first discovered this place and then having to explain why he was wet to Ritsu. His excuses had been humorously bad, but Ritsu had let him off every time.

The others were probably looking for him by now. He'd smashed official Septimal Moon equipment and simply walked out after telling Seimei that he didn't take orders anymore. Yeah, _no one_ would be looking for him after he'd done _all that_.

If only no one was looking for him. He'd already gotten about fifteen calls from both Kiyoshi and Ritsu, none of which he had answered. After fifteen he had turned his phone off so he could sit in peace and look at the stars. He just wanted to be alone. This was the perfect place to do so.

The last time Soubi had checked his phone it had been just before midnight. It had been a while since then, though, probably hours. Nobody would ever check here. If he didn't want to be, he'd never be found.

* * *

When Ritsuka awoke it was past midnight, therefore making it day 015. He remember the fight with Seimei over the cell phone, hearing Soubi's voice and then being electrocuted. His hands found the collar and it suddenly dawned on him that the collar Seimei had given him was a shock collar.

Ritsuka was still sprawled on the floor. It hurt to move, but he knew he had to if he wanted to look for injuries or proof that Seimei had done anything while he was asleep. Upon standing up, Ritsuka found his phone had been smashed to pieces on the ground, most likely by Seimei himself. He went to the mirror and looked himself up and down, finding no injuries from being electrocuted or from Seimei.

He showered and then redressed, finding a good selection of clothes in the dresser, all the while thinking about that voice he had heard on the other end of the phone. Soubi was…alive? He had answered the phone. It hadn't been one of Seimei's tricks. Soubi had called Ritsuka's phone. He was not dead. Seimei lied. Ritsuka had believed him.

When Ritsuka went back into the main room, Nakahira was waiting for him. His face was bruised and the right side was almost completely swollen. It looked as though Seimei had broken his nose and raked his nails across the bridge of it, leaving bright red marks. He wore a bandage around his forehead, his brown hair falling in messy clumps over it. His left cat ear also had a nick in it that hadn't been there before. Still, the man smiled at Ritsuka when he entered.

Ritsuka was speechless at seeing Nakahira's condition. It must've been from the fight he and Seimei had had. Seimei had probably continued to fight with him afterwards. Nakahira still smiled at him, offering something out to Ritsuka.

"What…?" Ritsuka approached him, seeing that he held out a pill. He dropped it in the teen's hand. "Is this for the flu I have?" Nakahira nodded. He wasn't talking. That seemed a bit strange since he was usually the one to initiate conversation. "Why aren't you talking?"

Nakahira coughed and cleared his throat, his voice coming out raspy and breathy, almost like a whisper, "The high voltage has some odd side effects on me."

"Voltage?" Ritsuka repeated curiously. Nakahira nodded and pulled down the collar of his shirt, reveling a metal shock collar Ritsuka had never seen before. "He gave you one, too?"

Nakahira nodded again and coughed some more, "It makes me lose my voice. I used to get sick from it, but my body has built up an immunity. Everyone here wears them, even the students at the school."

"School?" Ritsuka repeated dumbly. Surely he didn't mean Seven Voices. He couldn't. Seimei worked against Septimal Moon. Septimal Moon ran the Seven Voices academy. Did that mean that Seimei was building up a resistance against the Septimal Moon counsel by teaching students to hate them?

"Yes," Nakahira said in that hard-to-hear voice. "Get a jacket and come with me."

* * *

Ritsu was probably disappointed in Soubi. He had always taught him to be completely submissive towards his Sacrifice and to never speak in a demeaning or angry matter towards them. He had questioned this when he was younger, since he had seen units speaking freely with each other and being best friends, but he soon learned his lesson. Ritsuka hadn't cared what way Soubi spoke to him, though he was never angry with the teen.

Ritsu had been there during the call, so he had heard it all. Soubi wondered if he understood, though, since Ritsu had known about Seimei's crimes and treatment of Soubi.

"Hey," A voice sounding very much like Kiyoshi's called up at him from the ground. Soubi looked down to see bright green eyes looking up at him and Kiyoshi's form at the base of the tree. Something was out of place, but Soubi just couldn't figure it out. "Stop sitting up in that tree like a child and come down here. Everyone's looking for you."

Soubi narrowed his eyes at him, trying to think of what was wrong. The other man's eyes kept drawing him in. Misaki had blue eyes. Ritsuka and Seimei both had violet. Kiyoshi had…green?

"Who the hell are you?" He snapped. Kiyoshi didn't have green eyes, they were violet and matched Ritsuka's in color. Soubi couldn't forget the color of his eyes easily, since they reminded him so much of Ritsuka.

"I think the correct question is '_what_ the hell are you'," That wasn't Kiyoshi's voice anymore, either. It was somebody else's, somebody entirely else. It almost didn't sound human. "Now come down so I can kill you the easy way."

Soubi sighed, knowing he was going to get himself into another fight. What made this different was that this person wasn't hunting him down just to challenge him, this person, or whatever the hell it was, was hunting to kill.

"You were sent by Seimei, weren't you?" The want to kill Soubi wasn't normal for the teams that sometimes sought him out. There had to be a reason for wanting to murder him, usually it was because of revenge. He'd never fought this thing with the reptilian-like voice, though, and if he had he would surely remember it.

"Why, as a matter of fact, yes," The 'thing' at the bottom of the tree replied. The voice sounded like a hissing snake, and it had a rough tone to it. It held malice as well, something that told Soubi that he was actually serious about killing him. He studied its eyes, watching them change from green to blood red and his form become shorter in a matter of seconds. He half wished it wasn't so dark out so that he could actually see the thing, but something told him he didn't _want_ to.

It muttered something under its breath, something Soubi hadn't caught. He realized that it was a spell when a sudden gust of wind hit him, causing him to lose balance and fall. He was barely able to grab onto the branch with one hand before falling into the pond.

"You want a fight?" He made no attempt to pull himself back up onto the branch, knowing that he'd probably just be knocked off again.

"No," The thing replied, its blood red eyes, staring directly at the branch about Soubi. "I want you to _fall_."

* * *

Nakahira grabbed onto Ritsuka's hand and led him out the door to his room and into a long hallway. The door to his room was at one end of the corridor, with another at the other end and nothing in-between. This single hallway was like nothing Ritsuka had ever seen before. The walls were made out of dark stone, the floor out of elegant oak wood. An elaborate, medieval looking rug was on the floor and candles were set in metal holders on the wall, illuminating the dark hallway.

"What is this?" Ritsuka asked quietly. He had never actually looked out the window in his room, so he didn't have any idea of his surroundings. This hallway had the same elegant, almost royal look to it, as his room.

Nakahira didn't reply until they reached the door. "Ritsuka," He rasped, opening the door to reveal a grand sight. "Welcome to the Aoyagi manor."

* * *

The water in the pond was a lot deeper than Soubi remembered. He had heard the cracking of the branch and then gravity pulled him downwards, plunging him deep into the murky waters. He estimated to be at least fifteen feet down and he still couldn't feel the ground.

The current was a lot worse than he remembered, too. He fought against the undercurrent, trying to get to the top. Finally, after what seemed like forever he broke the surface, gasping and coughing up water.

"I was really hoping you couldn't swim," Soubi quickly located the voice. His training was starting to kick in. Maybe all the practice fights in the dark he'd been required to perform in hadn't been for nothing.

"Sorry to ruin your plans," Soubi grabbed onto the floating branch, letting the fast current take him towards the voice. He still breathed hard, still trying to catch his breath from being basically thrown into the pond.

"Let's make a deal," The voice growled, the darkness from the night seemingly creeping into its voice. Soubi noticed that the current was headed directly towards it. He could swim, of course, but why try when he didn't have to?

"What kind of deal?" Soubi didn't like the prospect of a deal. This thing was trying to play a game with him. A mind game. The sort of game Seimei liked to play. "I'm not an idiot. I can tell when you're tricking me." He now stood in front of this 'thing'. The red eyes seemed even brighter and wicked up close. It was a lot shorter than him, at least a foot or two. It stood hunched over and the light from the moon above seemed to glisten off its skin.

"Yes, Seimei warned me that you would not be easy to trick," It took a step forward and Soubi took a step back in an attempt to keep the distance. "How about if you succeed in restraining me, then I'll tell you all I know about Ritsuka. If I win, well, if I win you'll be dead."

* * *

**This chapter ended up so long that I had to split it into two parts. I'm really sorry about that. What kind of length do you guys prefer? I try to make my chapters at least 2000 words but no more than 5000. Day 015 ended up being extremely close to 5000, so I decided to split it up. **

**I'll put the next part up tomorrow, probably in the morning. If its not up in the morning, check back late afternoon. I hope splitting this chapter up wasn't a bad idea :/**

**HOLY CRAP THIS IS MY MOST REVIEWED STORY! 3 3 3**

**HFDHFIU DFHIUDFHDSF F THAT MAKES ME HAPPY. *hands out Portal cake* I SWEAR ITS NOT A LIE. **

**And lol, yes Seimei does deserved to be kicked in the balls while fully awake. He deserves it like nothing else in the world. **

**Your reviews made me LOL, by the way. KEEP IT UP PLEASE. I LOVE HEARING YOUR FEEDBACK!**

**~Wolfie  
**


	12. Day 015 part 2

**Day 015**

**_part 2_**

Ritsuka grasped onto Nakahira's arm to steady himself. The sight before him was grand, and yet it terrified Ritsuka all the same. They were on a landing in a huge dome-like atrium. The walls shone gold and floors were covered in a red carpet, making the place seem royal. The ceilings were _at least_ thirty feet from the landing.

Nakahira pulled Ritsuka forward so that he could see over the railing. They were on the top level of the atrium structure. Below were about seven more floors and then the main level. All the other floors wrapped around the main floor, except the seventh, the one Ritsuka was on. This one was set against the back wall and did not wrap around the bottom floor. On all the other floors, there were two stair cases, leading down to the next floor. Not on this one, though. In fact, there was seemingly no way to get up and down.

What also caught Ritsuka's attention was that there were many, many people on all the other floors, coming in and out, talking in groups, or going into one of the many doors. The only people on the seventh level were Ritsuka and Nakahira.

There were only two doors on this level, where there were many on the others. There was the one that led to Ritsuka's room and one directly opposite. Ritsuka pulled at Nakahira's sleeve and pointed wordlessly at the door. Nakahira followed his gaze, frowning.

"That's Seimei's personal office, bedroom, and study," He told Ritsuka slowly. The teen cringed; disgusted that he'd been living so close to Seimei for the past week or so. Just the thought made him want to hurl himself over the edge. He held onto Nakahira with both arms now, just needing someone to support him. This new environment was making him dizzy. The older man responded by patting his head, "Is this enough for now or do you want to go on?"

"Will you stay with me?" Ritsuka whispered. He didn't want to be alone and this place gave him the creeps. He could sense the evil emanating from it.

"I'll stay."

"Then let's go on." Nakahira seemed like the only good person in this place. Ritsuka could always read people pretty well, and he could tell that this man wanted nothing to do with Seimei, but was forced to be here, anyways. He reminded Ritsuka of the Seimei Ritsuka used to know, the nice, caring person he had been.

Nakahira led him to the back wall and pressed his fingertip onto the golden wall. A small square illuminated and flashed, apparently scanning his fingerprint. The screen flashed again, demanding something else, and Nakahira pried one of Ritsuka's hands off his arm and first pressed it against the wall and then to the well camouflaged screen. Ritsuka glanced at him, puzzled, but suddenly understood. The wall felt different from the screen. Nakahira was trying to get him to establish that. It also meant that Seimei probably wasn't going to keep him locked in his room anymore and so he'd have to be able to find this hidden scanned.

Ritsuka's print was confirmed and a rectangular area in the wall parted, becoming the doors of an elevator. Nakahira pulled him inside, just as an ear-splitting sound went through Ritsuka's head.

* * *

Soubi watched the figure across from him flinch visibly as he let out his battle radius. This thing was a high-level Fighter. Soubi had only met one other person, other than himself, who could cast spells with a single word. Most times Soubi played fair, though, and casted a full spell instead of a one-worded one. He wouldn't go easy on this half human, half reptile thing, though. It had information about Ritsuka's whereabouts.

"You're bloodthirsty today, aren't you?" His/its smirk gleamed in the darkness. Soubi felt no fear towards it. He could kill it easily. He didn't want to kill it, though. He only needed to fatally injure it.

He removed his sopping wet jacket, knowing that if the fight got physical it would only slow him down. In fact, he expected it to get physical. "No more than you are," He replied.

"Oh?" Its voice changed again into one that Soubi hated and recognized instantly. He fought to control himself, taking another step backwards. Red eyes changed to brown, the hunched over form became taller, but the smirk remained.

"What," Soubi breathed. "What the hell? You're not him…" Nisei. This un-human thing had the ability to shape shift into anyone. They could mimic the person's looks and voice exactly. Just what was this thing?

_It isn't Nisei_, he tried telling himself. It wasn't Nisei. But it was. It still stirred that deep hatred inside of Soubi. It wasn't the fact that it now _looked_ like Nisei, it was that voice. That voice that sounded exactly like Nisei's.

As much as he hated to admit it, the anger was from the fact that Seimei chose Nisei over Soubi. Sure, he didn't _want_ to be Seimei's anymore, but he was so much better than Nisei. Seimei had thrown Soubi away from somebody who was worse than him.

"Am I?" He taunted. "Do you know the difference, Soubi?"

At that Soubi grinned. "_Wrong_," He retorted, still smiling arrogantly. "Nisei would never call me by my first name. In fact, he refuses to call me by anything."

* * *

Ritsuka froze as the powerful sound overcame him. He stared blankly at the closing elevator doors. Nakahira froze, also, and looked down at Ritsuka. He seemed to made a decision and hit the stop button on the elevator, halting it in mid descent.

"It was just a battle frequency, Ritsuka," Nakahira told him quietly. "It happens all the time around here. Although…"

Ritsuka looked up at him as he trailed off abruptly, "Although _what_?"

Nakahira hesitated and Ritsuka yanked at his sleeve again. The older man knelt down, grabbing Ritsuka by the shoulders and looking straight into his eyes, "Don't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you. That was a very strong battle frequency. There's only a handful of Fighters who can put one like that out. We're on the outskirts of it, so if you try to run towards the source of it, you'll get shocked before you can get very far. The Fighter who put that out is very strong and is probably within about ten miles of this place."

Nakahira was trying to be subtle, and not say what he meant explicitly. Ritsuka still got what he was trying to say, though. That battle frequency had come from Soubi and Nakahira had just told him not to go looking for him.

* * *

"My bad," Soubi's opponent returned to its snake-like voice. "I'm still keeping this body, though. It might _ignite_ the fire in you."

This time, Soubi was ready for the effect the spell had. It started with a tiny spark somewhere in the middle of the two, and quickly ignited into a blazing inferno. It surrounded them in a circle, closing in on Soubi.

"_Defense_," He shot back as soon as the flames got close enough he could feel their heat. "_Mirror. Reflect_." The flames turned their course and illuminated his opponent's face. Soubi nearly lost control again when it was Nisei's face and body. Soubi stepped back again, holding his head in his hand. His blonde hair covered his face and eyes, blocking his view. He was trying to get his mind to grasp the reality that this thing was could somehow shape shift and was not Nisei. The resemblance was just too much, though. He was somehow able to keep himself from physically beating the hell out of him- or at least until he spoke.

The flames licked at him, and he let them, watching Soubi struggle to keep calm. He grinned haughtily again, "Something wrong over there?"

With that, Soubi completely lost it.

* * *

"Do you still want to go on?" Nakahira asked for about the third time.

Ritsuka sat on the floor of the elevator, hiding his face in his hands. _I cry too much_, Ritsuka thought to himself, feeling the tears run down his face. He cried silently, for once, without the usual loud sounds he made when he sobbed. All he could think about was how close Soubi was and how there was no way to get to him or even to let him know that he was close by. _I'm at the most ten miles away from him._ If only there was some way to communicate to him.

Would calling out to him work? Were they connected? Ritsuka loved him and Soubi loved him. Was that enough of a connection? It couldn't help to try…

_Soubi! _He called out, shutting his eyes tightly and thinking of his blonde Fighter. _I'm not far from you! Please come save me!_ He opened his eyes, hoping that he'd gotten through to him. Nakahira was sitting next to him, looking at him with knowing eyes. He gave Ritsuka a short nod before helping Ritsuka up and getting the elevator to return to its descent.

"No," Ritsuka grabbed at him again. "I want to go back to my room for the rest of the day. I've seen enough."

* * *

Soubi attacked the shape-changing figure, knocking it to the ground and straddling its chest. The flames ceased to burn because physical contact broke every spell battle rule. His hands closed around its neck and, unable to stop himself, he pressed down. The humanoid below him coughed, trying to get air but failing to do so. It put a hand on Soubi's arm, trying to get him to lift up. The sleeve of the shirt it was wearing fell down a little, revealing a glowing name. Shapeless.

_Soubi! _A voice called, sounding like Ritsuka. He glanced around, almost positive that it had been a delusion, before realizing that it was Ritsuka calling out to him. _I'm not far from you! Please come save me! _Not far? Was Ritsuka close? A shudder from the thing below him knocked him out of his thoughts, making his attention go back to it.

It suddenly transformed back into Kiyoshi's body, seemingly dissolving beneath Soubi's hands and reappearing. Soubi stared at it, wide-eyed, taking off a little pressure off of his neck. His mind felt clouded and he could not think straight at all. The older man stared up at him and Soubi glared at him. He pressed down on Shapeless's throat again, wanting to stop but finding that he couldn't.

It changed again, this time doing the entire transformation before Soubi's eyes. Kiyoshi's features twisted into a much softer, smaller version, his eyes growing lighter, his hair darker. The figure below his had transformed into Soubi's Sacrifice.

Soubi let up all pressure, though he kept his hands on the neck. "R-Ritsuka?" He stuttered.

"Please don't hurt me. Soubi…" The voice was his, too, so innocent and quiet. The boy's hands were on his, trying to get Soubi to let go of him.

Soubi was losing all perceptions of reality. He was going delusional, unable to think straight. This was Ritsuka…This was not Ritsuka…Which was it? _Why the hell can't I just get a grip of this? _His hands closed around his neck again, pressing as hard as he could. _It's just a mind game…It's just a game…This has no effect on me… _But it did. He shoved downwards harder, only to see a pained expression come across 'Ritsuka's' face. Soubi knew that look. It was the same look Ritsuka had on his face whenever his mother beat him.

"God dammit!" Soubi cussed, shutting his eyes tightly. He could feel tears coming and wanted to make it stop. Crying was a sign of weakness, but he just couldn't handle the fact that Ritsuka was below him with _that_ expression on his face and Soubi was choking him. And the whimpers…they sounded exactly like when Ritsuka was having a nightmare about his mother.

Thankfully, the tears never fell, just stayed in his eyes. The pained whimpering was getting harder and harder for Soubi to ignore. It was horrible; the combined feeling that he was suffocating Ritsuka right now and that he was losing his mind.

He suddenly felt inhuman nails rip at his wet shirt and pierce his skin. Soubi's eyes shot open, feeling immense pain. It was almost as if somebody had stabbed him, but even worse since the nails were longer and sharper than any knife. He still looked down at Ritsuka's face, though, even though it was obviously the boy stabbing him. Soubi coughed, feeling blood come up. He could sense the warm liquid seeping down his back and the pain spread throughout him, probably due to some damaged nerves.

Something snapped and the claw-like thing that had stabbed him in the back pulled out. Soubi realized that he had crushed its windpipe. A grin came over the thing's face as it transformed into a disgusting reptilian figure. It only stayed this way for a split second before becoming a pale, white-haired little girl. Soubi still leaned over it, gasping and coughing from being stabbed.

"Soubi!" Someone distantly called, crashing through the bushes. Soubi didn't make any move towards it, though, as he held his chest, trying desperately to breathe. The thing's claws must have penetrated deep enough to do something to his lungs. That, or it had released poison into his blood system.

"Hey!" The same voice called again, this time closer. "Soubi!" Soubi's head spun and his grip on reality became less and less firm. He coughed up more blood, unsure of what was real or unreal. He couldn't breathe. That was all he really knew for sure. The edges of his vision became blurry. He was slipping from either consciousness or reality. Maybe both. He couldn't really tell, though. The person who had come into the clearing was franticly saying his name and was now shaking him. Another voice spoke fast.

The last thing Soubi saw before blacking out was the image of Ritsuka's face pained beneath him as Soubi suffocated him.

* * *

**I swear I meant to update this this morning but was being a bitch and glitching up and I couldn't fix it because I had to go to school. Sorry! Really, I am!  
**

**So some of you are wondering what this 'thing' is. Does anybody happen to read Full Metal Alchemist? I just started reading it a couple months ago. I guess I sort of had Envy in mind when I designed this thing. And it does get a name in the next chapter. **

**Please review and I'll get the next chapter up ASAP!**

**~Wolfie  
**


	13. Day 018 part 1

**Day 018**

**_Part one_  
**

Ritsuka refused to come out of his room for two days. The only person he could think about was Soubi and how he was alive. Him sending out a battle frequency meant that he was in a battle and since Ritsuka wasn't there, he was fighting without a Sacrifice. Which meant he'd probably been hurt.

_He's too strong for that, though_, Ritsuka reassured himself. It worked, since he knew that Soubi was one of the best Fighters in the world. He remembered that one time after a battle, Ritsuka had told him he was really good at fighting and then had asked him if there was anyone else better than him and if he'd ever been beat. Soubi had admitted that he was the top Fighter that had ever graduated and that he had only lost a couple battles in the sixteen years he'd been fighting.

Ritsuka smiled warmly on the morning of the seventeenth day when he realized with a surge of satisfaction for Soubi that he had most likely not been hurt. He still slept with Soubi's coat clutched tightly to him, and he could still pick up the man's scent in it, just as he was doing that morning. He laid in bed, feeling in a good mood, with his nose pushed into the soft purple fabric, thinking of fond memories.

Ritsuka always told Soubi that he did well after a fight. They had never lost a fight, although Ritsuka had gotten hit a couple times in one battle after the incident at Seven Voices. That hadn't been Soubi's fault, though. Ritsuka had told him to attack rather than defend and he had obeyed.

Soubi always looked happy when Ritsuka told him he did well. He understood now that Seimei had never told him that he was good. Ritsuka had always hugged him and took care of the bleeding scars on his neck afterwards, too. Soubi always told him he didn't have to, but Ritsuka always did, anyways.

He was proud that Soubi could do so well under the pressure of a battle. Ritsuka knew that he would never be able to keep the calm, collected exterior Soubi did. Soubi could think up spells instantly and under huge amounts of pressure. They were also always so beautifully phrased, too.

_He must be extremely smart to be able to do that_, Ritsuka thought with another small smile. Of course Soubi was smart. He'd graduated at the top of his class _early_. He could always tell Ritsuka little facts about anything. He always helped Ritsuka with his homework and always seemed to know the answers to math problems without even using a calculator. He read a lot, too. When Ritsuka would come over to his apartment he'd be reading and when Ritsuka napped at his apartment, Ritsuka would usually wake up to Soubi painting or sitting beside him reading a book.

_I just want to see him again. I don't care if it's only for one day._ He would do anything Seimei wanted him to if he would just let him have a day- no, _an hour_- with Soubi. That way he could confess his feelings and Soubi would stop looking for him.

Ritsuka knew that Seimei telling him that Soubi was dead had not only been not only a lie, but a warning. Seimei had said that he killed him because he was looking for Ritsuka. There was no doubt in his mind that Seimei would actually carry that out. Maybe he had already sent somebody out to carry out the plan…

* * *

Soubi's dreams were filled with voices, spell words, and Ritsuka. He relived memories in the strange dream-like state. Memories like the birthday party he and Kio had thrown for Ritsuka when he turned thirteen. He was even taken through the fight they'd had just before Ritsuka had disappeared. That was one of the most painful memories, because if Soubi hadn't just walked out, Ritsuka might still be with him.

Finally Soubi broke out of the dream state, his vision doubling and blurry as he tried to focus on Nagisa's face. He was in excruciating pain from his mid-back from where the humanoid with the talons had pierced him. Nagisa was pushing something into an IV that Soubi realized was his own. That meant he was in a hospital; the place he hated the most.

Nagisa shot a glance at him, watching him slowly regain consciousness. Her face hovered over his, shining a bright light into both of his eyes. He blinked; the light blinding him a bit, but didn't move. There was a breathing mask over his face and nose, and he assumed that if he moved he'd mess something up.

"He's disorientated," Nagisa told someone in the background. "But he's stabilizing." Soubi recognized the steady beeping somewhere behind him as his own heartbeat.

"Is he going to be fit to speak today?" That was Kiyoshi's voice. He sounded close, as if he was sitting at his bedside.

Nagisa waited a long time before answering. Soubi closed his eyes again, almost falling back asleep before she spoke, "Yes. Just get him back here _as soon_ as you're done. I would order him to be here for the next few days but I know he'll never listen to that and that you two can't call off a huge press conference like this."

_This _got Soubi's attention. He tried to sit up, only to be violently shoved back down by Nagisa herself.

"You're going to yank your IV and disconnect the oxygen tube, you idiot!" She snapped.

Soubi pulled the breathing mask away a little and propped himself up so that he could see more. "Where…" He gasped out, trying to find the strength to say something or at ask one of the millions of questions going through his head. Before he could get anything else out, Nagisa grabbed his wrist, forcing the breathing mask back down.

"You're in the intensive care unit," Kiyoshi explained. Soubi looked over to see him sitting on a chair at the side of the bed, his face a bit bruised and bandaged.

"Yes, you nearly died," Nagisa stated bluntly. She put another vile of something into the IV and tapped it, making it run through the tube into his hand. Soubi noticed that she wasn't wearing one of her ridiculous outfits, and instead just a short black dress with a normal white doctors' coat.

Soubi felt a bit stronger once the liquid started flowing. He hated hospitals. Being treated by doctors made him feel weak. He guessed he needed it though, since he'd obviously been out for a while.

The fight was beginning to come back to him. The reptilian Fighter had had information on Ritsuka…and Soubi had lost control and murdered it. He had been extremely close to the truth and he'd lost his mind.

The thing had changed into Nisei and had been able to mimic the man extremely well. Soubi might have come to his senses before killing it if it hadn't transformed into Ritsuka. That was when Soubi's mind had started to blur the line between real and not. From there, his memories were a mess, but he remembered the face Ritsuka had made, Soubi feeling the throat collapse, and then the humanoid changing first into a revolting monster and then a little girl.

"You lost so much blood we had to give you a transplant during surgery," Nagisa explained.

Soubi stared at her with wide eyes. He sat up before she could stop him and pulled the breathing mask off. "Surgery?" He repeated breathlessly, going into a coughing fit right after.

Nagisa glared at him again, "Your injuries were too severe to self heal. You would've died before they could heal properly. Now, put that mask back on before I shove an oxygen tube down your throat."

"What'd that…_thing_ do to me?" Soubi asked, wheezing a bit. He didn't ignore Nagisa's threat, though, and repositioned the mask back on his face. He glanced around again, noting that he was in a mostly white room with a curtain separating him and some other patient.

"We'll explain when Ritsu gets here," Kiyoshi told him.

He was feeling a bit stronger by now. He could recall almost every detail of the fight. He reached for his sketchbook and pencil, which somebody had brought and had put on the bedside table. He opened to a blank page and attempted to steady his hand, which was shaking uncontrollably, as he began to draw.

Somewhere in the background a door opened and Soubi could hear two pairs of footsteps heading right towards the room. The door to the room opened and Ritsu and Seven walked in, both coming to a stop at Soubi's bed.

The hospital was a part of the academy's campus. It was needed since some of the battles of the older kids got violent. With any school, there was also physical fighting, but it was probably worse here. Soubi's own record was filled with all the physical fights he got in from everyone else taunting him about his well-known sexual relationship with Ritsu. He was familiar with the hospital, since he'd been there for an examination after every fight.

"You got yourself into another fight?" Ritsu accused, an angry expression on his face. It was almost as if he was scolding Soubi after one of his petty fights during school.

Soubi ignored him and continued to draw the gruesome form of the thing he'd fought from memory. He had seen the thing right before blacking out and he could recall it pretty well.

Soubi pulled the mask off again, letting it hang around his neck. He held up his sketch, "This is what attacked me." It had been a horrible looking half human, half reptile. It had a long snout, almost like a snake's, and blood red eyes set far apart. Its skin was made of dark gray scales and its tail was that of a lizard's. Soubi had drawn its 'hands' as he had felt them, and not seen. They had long talon-like thick claws that acted as hands.

Kiyoshi was looking at Soubi like he was insane, "Are you _sure_ that's what you saw?"

Seven was talking to Ritsu in a low voice, probably saying something about the picture.

"Good job, Soubi-kun," Ritsu complimented, to Soubi's surprise. "You've effectively subdued one of the most wanted Fighters in the world."

Soubi narrowed his eyes at him, trying to breathe without the oxygen mask, "What are you talking about? I murdered it. I didn't subdue it."

* * *

Ritsuka showered and got dressed, finding a black t-shirt with the name of a singer he liked on it. He was determined, now. He was going to force himself to explore this place. He was going to find a way out of here and find Soubi. He thought of waiting for Nakahira, but decided against it, knowing that he'd probably find him on the way there, anyways.

He brushed through his hair, making it lay neatly on his head and put his fake ears on. He looked longingly at the very attractive, even sexy, picture of Soubi Seimei had brought. He smiled at it thinking, _I'm going to find you and tell you how much I love you._ After much consideration he put it in the pocket of the sweatshirt he had thrown on over his t-shirt.

He exited the room, facing his fear of the outside of the long hallway. The atrium was bustling with people again. Ritsuka started to shirk backwards towards the hallway but forced himself to keep going. He went towards the wall, pressing his fingertip at where he remembered the pad to be. Confirmation flashed on the screen and the golden doors opened. Ritsuka stepped in. Anxiety started to set in and he suddenly found himself wishing that Nakahira had come with him.

The elevator automatically went down one floor and opened again. Ritsuka felt dizzy as he people spotted him. One woman dressed in a ball gown bowed to him, saying, "Hello, Aoyagi-kun." Ritsuka felt like running back to his room, but when he shoved his hands into the pocket of the sweatshirt, walking on with his head down, he felt the smooth surface of the photo. He stopped suddenly, halfway to the stairs. More people bowed to him, but he didn't care. He had to continue on, for himself and for Soubi.

"Oh!" A voice said in the crowd. Ritsuka spotted Nakahira making a beeline for him through the crowd. "Hello, little one."

Ritsuka smiled, knowing that doing this would be easier with Nakahira. "Will you show me around today?"

Nakahira returned his smile, his voice sounding better when he spoke. "Of course. Just follow me," He rested his hand on Ritsuka's shoulder, guiding him through the crowd to the stairs.

* * *

"Shapeless," Ritsu began to explain to Soubi. "Shapeless's true form is the one you drew. The person you fought was the Shapeless Fighter, Hiro, who is androgynous and whose appearance never ages. 'His' Sacrifice was murdered right after birth. The mother went insane. Hiro was never paired up with another Sacrifice. He gained the ability to transform into anything at a _very_ early age, but his true form became hideous. He was extremely violent here at school, to the point where he killed a student while in his true form.

"I was forced to expel him after that. From there he seemingly dropped off the face of the earth. A year ago, though, he began a string of killing Fighters closely connected with Septimal Moon. His signature way of murdering was stabbing his victims with his claws. They go extremely deep and have fast-acting poison in them. His reptilian-like true form is supposedly the only thing his victims see before they die. When he's sent to kill, he usually kills. From what I know, you're the only survivor."

Soubi was still struggling to breathe, and Nagisa was glaring at him again. He still refused to put the breathing mask back on, though, seeing having it on as a sign of weakness. He glanced over at Kiyoshi, a question going through his head. He felt that if he tried to talk he'd pass out again.

"What does that have to do anything with Soubi murdering the thing?" Kiyoshi asked, nodding slightly at Soubi.

Seven glanced at Ritsu before answering herself, "Hiro often kills by transforming into someone that his victim longs for or someone close to them. That way they usually won't attack him. He attacks them and then transforms his hands into his claws."

"When Kiyoshi and the rest of us found you in the woods on that girl," Nagisa continued. "We thought that you had suffered a complete mental breakdown and attacked someone innocent, especially when you went for Kiyoshi."

Soubi looked over at Kiyoshi and his bruised face. The older man only smirked, "You're a hell of a lot stronger than you look."

"It transformed into Ritsuka," Soubi informed them once he had caught his breath.

Ritsu nodded, "That's what we thought had happened once we found the name on Hiro's arm. Apparently, if you kill him, he loses all his power and his ability. We found out that 'he' is really a 'she'. The little girl is still in a coma, but she's alive. Nearly dead, but alive."

"This should add an interesting twist to our story," Kiyoshi commented.

The press conference. The press conference was _today_. Soubi had lost two full days. That made it twenty days since Ritsuka had disappeared. Two weeks and six days. Over four-hundred and fifty hours Ritsuka had been suffering. He was losing time. Every day that past brought Ritsuka further and further away from him.

After a while Ritsu and Seven left, leaving Nagisa to monitor Soubi. She still seemed annoyed that he wasn't wearing the breathing mask and hat he was now pulling lightly at the IV. He was still having troubles breathing, but he was able to talk, at least.

"How much time until we have to leave?" He asked, coughing a little.

"Five hours," Kiyoshi answered after looking at his watch. "Press conference is at noon. It's seven now."

Nagisa was writing something down on what Soubi assumed to be his chart. She held it out to him, wanting a signature. Soubi read the paper over, looking at his diagnoses. _Temporary mental breakdown, asphyxiation, severe puncture wounds, extreme blood loss, extreme amounts of poison injected into bloodstream_. Hiro had really screwed Soubi up. Soubi had won, though, and it/she was still alive and could keep their end of the bet. Soubi signed the paper, a thought suddenly going into his head.

He looked up at Nagisa sharply, "Who consented for me?" He was a legal adult, meaning that all consent had to be from himself. He had no living family members, so that was out of the question. Had it been Ritsu?

"Kiyoshi did," She looked over the form, ignoring Soubi's confused expression.

"Ritsu knew that you wouldn't want him to do it, so he left it up to me. I didn't know you were raised by him and you don't have any living family members," Kiyoshi explained.

Nagisa put the papers back on the table, sighing. "You suffered a mental breakdown. It was only temporary, though," She was headed towards the curtain that divided in the room. "I don't think it'll happen again, so I won't give you a calming agent."

"What are you going to do?" Soubi asked, even though he was almost positive that he knew what she was about to do.

Her answer simply confirmed his suspicions, "We're going to wake Hiro."

* * *

**I had to split this chapter in two, too, since it takes up over ten pages on microsoft word... LOL. I thought about just making this into 2 days, but that wouldn't work.**

**Anyways, I wanted to talk a bit about pairings here. Soubi and Ritsuka are the primary pairing. I won't stick them with anyone else (well, besides Seimei raping/molesting Ritsuka). Soubi needed a counterpart in this story, so I stuck him with Kiyoshi (not as a pairing, of course) and Ritsuka needed someone to be a 'nicer' older brother, which is why I put Nakahira in this story. I've sort of been thinking about a secondary pairing with some other characters, but I don't know yet.**

**I was a bit disappointing with the feedback I got for the last chapter, but I got a lot of views for it, so I updated.**

**Remember to review if you want the next part! Tell me what you think!**

**~Wolfie  
**


	14. Day 018 part 2

**Day 018**

**_Part 2_  
**

"The seventh floor is the most heavily protected," Nakahira told Ritsuka as the two reached the fifth floor. People were still gawked at Ritsuka and bowed whenever he made eye contact. He noticed how everyone was dressed formally and how they all carried themselves with dignity. "It's not just the hidden elevator. There are hiding trigger-happy snipers who'll blow your head off at any second. They're all trained to protect that floor, since it's where you and Seimei both live. There are also cameras that watch everybody's every move on that floor and people that guard the elevator and the railing. You don't notice them because you never realize they're there."

Just the thought of being watched every second sent shivers down Ritsuka's spine. He knew that Seimei probably watched the tapes. If Seimei watched Ritsuka's every move, how would he ever find a way out?

An idea crept into Ritsuka's mind, one that he didn't like one bit, but he knew would work. To get Seimei to stop watching him, Ritsuka had to gain Seimei's trust. He had to make him _think_ he was on his side. That way he could betray him without Seimei ever seeing it coming. Maybe Seimei would also tell him about his plans. It was foolproof, even though Ritsuka hated it.

"Ritsuka," Nakahira lightly shook his shoulder, drawing Ritsuka out of his thoughts. "Are you alright?"

Ritsuka smiled again, sincerely, knowing he could trust this man, "I'm fine. What's the sixth floor used for?"

They had reached the fifth floor now. Nakahira led him into a long, deserted hallway just off of the landing. "It's just interrogation rooms and storage rooms," He shrugged, starting to lead him down the hallway. "This floor has a lot of hallways like this one. My bedroom and office is on this floor, even though my lab is in the basement."

"Are we going to your room now?" Ritsuka questioned innocently. Nakahira cast his gaze down at him, his eyes a bit dark. "No. I'm taking you to Seimei's office."

Ritsuka stopped. He didn't want to see Seimei yet, not until he got himself ready for actually being nice to him. He started to walk away when Nakahira called back to him.

"He's not going to be there. He just instructed me to show it to you."

* * *

Soubi watched as the little girl on the other bed blinked huge, blue eyes open. He was leaning heavily on Kiyoshi, who was the one who helped him over to the child's bed. It had snow white long, neatly cut hair and extremely albino skin. It was almost…scary.

"Hello Agatsuma-san," She said to Soubi in a sweet, innocent voice. She looked no older than eight but she didn't have her ears.

Nagisa was looking at it with analyzing eyes and she wrote down something on her clipboard. The girl, Hiro, reached towards her but couldn't reach very far because of the handcuffs that chained her to the railing of the bed. She glanced at them and pulled again and again

"How do you know…Agatsuma-san, Hiro?" Nagisa asked, making another note.

The girl giggled, blushing. This girl was creepy in a way Soubi couldn't explain. She looked directly at him, her bright blue eyes pouring into his. She laughed again, this time in an even more high-pitched way, "He's cute!"

Soubi rolled his eyes. "I'm leaving," He growled, wanting to go back to his side of the room, or, better yet, back to the dorm room.

"Wait!" The little girl said loudly before he could get anywhere. "I know where Aoyagi is~!" She sang and laughed again. She was taunting him now, and she knew it. Something about her made Soubi want to kill her all over again. He felt no shame, because she wasn't _really_ a child, she just had the body of one.

"She has the mentality of an eight year-old," Nagisa told him quickly, probably sensing his anger. "She can't help it."

"Tell us what you know about Ritsuka," Kiyoshi demanded calmly.

"Ritsuka?" The girl repeated dumbly. "I know where Seimei is. Maybe he's keeping Ritsuka with him! Seimei lives in the Aoyagi Manor. I don't remember where it is. It looks like a castle! It's so big! Lots and lots of people live in there. There's a school, too! They trained me there, though I don't really remember what. Oh! They taught me to make pretty, pretty words! There's a mean, mean man named Nisei there. He punishes the kids at school. They also taught us about bad people called Septimal Moon. They said something about a resistance, whatever that means!"

Nagisa was already on her phone, calling Ritsu, "You should come down here. I think there's something you need to hear."

* * *

Seimei's office was big and extremely organized, almost to the point where it looked like nobody had ever been there. Nothing was out of place on the large wood desk. The huge picture window behind it didn't have a smudge on it. Even the books in the bookcase were arranged in perfect alphabetical order. The only thing that seemed out of place was the black leather tasseled whip with blood on it lying on the coffee table by the perfect couch.

The sight of it and the crimson blood that dripped off of it scared Ritsuka. He pulled at Nakahira's arm, wanting to leave before even stepping a foot inside the office. Nakahira seemed to understand, though and closed the doors to the office, leading Ritsuka back down the hallway.

Apparently, the fifth floor was used for offices of important people like Seimei, Nisei, corrupt lawyers and government officials, and even some of Seimei's higher up henchmen. The fourth floor had doors that simply led to hallways and the rooms of some of the most important people. The third floor had more offices for the less important people, as well as some guest rooms and interrogation rooms. The second floor was primarily for interrogation and conference rooms. Why Seimei needed so many interrogation rooms was beyond Ritsuka's imagination.

"And this is the first floor," Nakahira led Ritsuka to the bottom floor which was by far the busiest. One lady accidently knocked Ritsuka down and looked terrified when she realized that it was him who had fell over. She kept apologizing franticly, even though Ritsuka told her over and over that it was okay.

"This is the entry hall," Nakahira went on once the woman left. "Over there," Nakahira pointed towards the south wall, which was almost completely taken up by a huge archway. "That's the entrance. Over there," He pointed at the north wall where there was a smaller arch. "Is the entry to the rest of the manor. I'll leave you to explore the rest of your own, but I'll show you the outside, first."

They made their way through the crowd and out a large set of stained-glass doors Cold air hit Ritsuka's face and he shivered, glad he had worn a heavy sweat-shirt. He didn't look back at the manor until Nakahira stopped and Ritsuka involuntarily glanced back.

It was huge and it looked like a 16th century castle with some gothic architecture. There was the main building they'd come out of and a lot of towers and other buildings behind it. It looked like one of the stone castles in a history book. Ritsuka was almost surprised to see that there was no moat surrounding it.

"How'd he build this without anyone knowing?" Ritsuka asked quietly.

"The castle was already here. He just had Fighters mask it from the common eye while he did modifications. Masking means that its hidden, but a heat graph could still detect it," Nakahira was looking at it too, squinting in the bright noon sun. "Let's hurry and get to the school before nightfall."

* * *

"You ready for this?" Kiyoshi asked. Soubi sat on the steps of the marble city hall building in the city nearest Seven Voices. Kiyoshi stood on the step above him, keeping an eye out for reporters. Soubi was feeling better, even though he still felt a bit dizzy and couldn't breathe well. If someone were to attack him, he wouldn't have the strength to fight or to run. That was why Ritsu had ordered a unit to tail them, both of whom were sitting in a black window-tinted car out on the street.

It had taken them a full hour to get here and they still showed up thirty minutes early. It was nearing noon. Soubi was nervous, as much as he hated to admit it. If this didn't work, they would have to go with the other option. If the public didn't take well to the story, if it didn't go nationwide, they would have no other choice. Seimei was already trying to kill Soubi. If he continued working just with Kiyoshi and Septimal Moon, Seimei might eventually succeed.

Soubi had been going over their story over and over again, making sure he had it down. If he messed up just once, it would all be over. Kiyoshi had done this before. He wouldn't mess up. He was used to speaking to cameras and the public, where Soubi had never done it before.

"It doesn't matter whether or not I'm ready," Soubi replied as the two watched the first news truck with several cars tailing it approach. "What matters is that the public takes to the story and we find Ritsuka."

Everything depended on the public, as Kiyoshi had told Soubi during the first day of coming up with the cover. The public would be the ones to receive the story. They would have two possible reactions as a whole group; they would take well to the story and it goes nationwide or they hate it and pass it off as nothing. Kiyoshi and Ritsu had both used sources to increase the possibility that the story would be received well, but there was still the chance that the public wouldn't like it at all.

"Here we go," Soubi muttered under his breath when a woman came running out of the car towards them.

"Are you Aoyagi Kiyoshi and Agatsuma Soubi?" She asked, grinning excitedly. She was a young, pretty woman dressed in formal clothing. The head reporter, Soubi guessed.

Kiyoshi smiled back at her, "We are. You're here because of our story, aren't you?"

"Yes!" She motioned to the others and her cameramen and a couple other reporters came running. Another car drove up just as she was introducing herself as Kaiko, the head reporter for channel six. The street soon filled with cars and news vans and people surrounded them, half holding cameras, the other half speaking into them. Kaiko was the first to introduce them to the camera, making some joke about how everybody was here and didn't even know why.

"We were told to meet here today with these two for a very important, life-changing story," She spoke into the camera, casting glances at Soubi and Kiyoshi. "I think we all want to know exactly why you're here today."

The crowd went dead silent and all cameras were trained on the two adults everyone circled around. Soubi found himself speechless, trying to find the right words to talk, but not being able to speak. Kiyoshi, though, was looking directly into the camera with knowing eyes.

"Twenty days ago my youngest son, Aoyagi Ritsuka went missing," He spoke boldly and strongly in a way that Soubi didn't know he could.

Murmurs of surprise rippled through the crowd, but they soon quieted down again. Kaiko began to speak again, "Aoyagi…I've heard that name before. Are you by chance related to Aoyagi Seimei, who died a year or two ago?"

"He's my oldest son," Kiyoshi's voice was still strong, but now with a bit of anger in it.

As soon as he heard Seimei's name Soubi remembered what he was fighting for. Ritsuka could be dying and Soubi was at a press conference, doing nothing to help him. Seimei's name also ignited a fire within Soubi, something he had never felt towards Seimei before, but was the same kind of anger he felt towards Nisei.

Soubi stepped forward, looking into the bright light of the camera. "Seimei's not dead," He shocked himself with how mad he sounded and how he was actually able to keep a steady voice. "He faked his own death and now he's kidnapped his own brother."

More noise from the crowd sounded as he said it, this time louder. A man yelled from the crowd, "Who are you and how do you know?"

Soubi glared at the person who had said it, a short older man towards the back. "I'm Soubi, a family friend. I go to a university in Tokyo and I dated Seimei for more than a year," The crowd silenced again to listen to him. "Seimei kills people. He tortures them, he takes everything away from them and they lose the will to live. A few weeks before he died, the government got a warrant for his arrest and then he just _died_." Soubi noticed his voice gradually getting stronger and louder. "I bonded with his brother, made friends with him. Seimei always spoke of love for him. He was even…inappropriate with him at times."

Kiyoshi was nodding, "I never knew until Soubi told me." That seemed to be enough to convince the crowd.

"He would kiss him and even touch him while he was asleep," This part was true, too. Seimei always made Soubi hide whenever his brother would come in unexpectedly. He often watched Seimei kiss his brother's neck or even kiss him full on the lips. Sometimes Seimei would even leave Soubi in his hiding spot for hours while he put Ritsuka to sleep in Seimei's own bed and then he would watch over the sleeping child. Often, he put his hand under Ritsuka's shirt or run a hand down his thigh. Soubi had never told Ritsuka of this, and he hadn't really thought of it much, either.

"Why didn't you ever report it?" Kaiko pressed, sounding shocked.

This was actually working out well. "I wanted to," Soubi admitted, trying to sound somewhat sad. "But Seimei beat me nearly every day." Another true part. Soubi felt the bandages around his neck, briefly wondering how much of it disappeared. "He would torture me, both physically and mentally. I was also privy to his frequent crimes. All the fraud, the conspiracy, the murdering, everything. I knew about, but I couldn't tell anyone about it because Seimei threatened to kill me and everyone around me."

* * *

Ritsuka shivered from the cold, but darted after Nakahira anyways. They had been walking for almost a half hour. Nakahira had led him into the woods towards the left of the manor and down a beaten down path. Snow was still on the ground and Ritsuka was wishing he had put something even heavier on. Nakahira walked ahead of him at a fast pace, probably trying to save time.

Ritsuka found himself thinking of the last time he had gone out with Soubi in the cold. They'd gone out for a walk and had stayed out longer than they had expected to. It had been a cold night like this and they had gone for a walk around the city. Soubi had wanted to show Ritsuka the Christmas lights that were up. Not very long into the walk Soubi had noticed Ritsuka staring longingly at the couples holding hands as they walked, so he had taken Ritsuka's hand. Ritsuka smiled at the memory, remembering looking at the beautiful display of lights around town as the two held hands. It was one of those memories Ritsuka would never let go of.

"We're here," Nakahira had stopped and waited for Ritsuka to catch up as they came to a clearing. In front of them was a large, plain, rectangular building with no windows. Nakahira put his hand on Ritsuka's shoulder, speaking to him softly, "You're going to see some things here that you don't like. This is where children are trained. It's sort of like Seven Voices in that sense, but completely different… You'll see when you get in there."

When he started to walk towards the building, Ritsuka hesitated but followed anyways. They walked up the stone steps and into the building. The inside was just as unwelcoming as the inside. There was a wooden bench in a small entry area, as well as a gloomy receptionist. She glanced up at them, her eyes dark and a deep red scar going diagonally across her face. She bowed to Ritsuka and buzzed them through the intimidating large wooden door.

Ritsuka held onto Nakahira's arm again as they walked down the hallway. Something gave Ritsuka the same eerie sense that the manor did. A student walked past them in the hallway, his head dropped in submission. As he past, Ritsuka looked back to see blood soaking through the back of his shirt. Ritsuka whimpered, knowing what had probably happened to him.

"Students here are punished by whip and knife for bad behavior and grades," Nakahira murmured to him. "I'm sorry, Ritsuka. I know it's hard to see. I didn't want to take you here, but Seimei told me to."

"Can we please take a break?" Ritsuka remembered the first time he'd seen Soubi's back. It had been scarred from the base of his neck down past the waistband of his jeans. They were healing over, so they weren't like the Beloved scar, but they were there. Ritsuka could tell they were old, but some were newer than others. Ritsuka had always known that they were from a whip.

Soubi had stopped asking, but when they first met Soubi would always ask Ritsuka to punish him. He had stopped when Ritsuka finally told him that it was fine to make mistakes. Ritsuka understood after seeing the whip scars that that had probably been how Seimei had punished him.

"Of course," Nakahira pulled Ritsuka into a tiny closet. Things were piled on both sides of the closet on shelves. Nakahira closed the door and sat against the far wall, pulling Ritsuka down with him.

Ritsuka pulled his knees against his chest, feeling safer in the little supply closet. "Do you have any family?" He asked Nakahira after he calmed down a little.

Nakahira smiled sadly at him, "No, I don't. They were all killed in an explosion."

"An explosion…?" It sounded suspicious. It wasn't that Ritsuka was suspicious of Nakahira; he just thought it was odd.

"Seimei," Nakahira said simply, confirming Ritsuka's suspicions. "It was a family gathering. I had betrayed Seimei, told someone of his crimes. I wanted out. This is like the mob, Ritsuka. Once you're in, you can't get out. If you try to get out…well, Seimei blows up your family."

"How'd you first get involved with Seimei?" It was a question that had been nagging at Ritsuka. He had been too afraid to ask, though.

Nakahira stared at the floor, not saying anything for a while. Ritsuka started to apologize for asking when Nakahira spoke up, "He kidnapped me. I was a valuable asset. I knew some things about the origins of Fighters and Sacrifices. I had done some experiments without Septimal Moon's consent. He threatened to tell them on me unless I gave him all my research and went to work for him. After awhile, I wanted out, so I told my father. Less than a week later my entire family died in the explosion and I woke up in the same situation you did."

Ritsuka was a loss for words. "I'm sorry," Was all he could say.

Nakahira was smiling again, "Ritsuka do you have a father?"

Ritsuka looked down this time, remembering his drunken father. Aoyagi Kiyoshi. Ritsuka had never really thought of him as a father, though. He probably hadn't even noticed Ritsuka was gone. "Yeah…" Ritsuka said, dragging the word out uncertainly. "But Soubi's more of a parent than he is. Neither my mother nor my father ever really took care of me. For the last year or so, Soubi's been taking care of me. My mother beats me and my father just drinks all the time. Soubi treats my injuries, picks me up from school, and cooks for me."

"He's looking for you," Nakahira told him absentmindedly. He gasped suddenly, probably realizing what he had done. "Please disregard that."

Ritsuka looked at him as he hung his head and dropped his gaze in submission. "I'm _not_ Seimei," Ritsuka's voice shook a little. "Please don't talk to me like I'm about to hurt you. I could never hurt anyone. Thank you for telling me. Do you want out, too?"

Nakahira took a long time to answer again. When he did, his eyes and expression were too hard to read, "Everybody does, even the students. They don't know it, but they talk of feeling out of place and how bad they're treated here."

"Why do they hate Septimal Moon?" Ritsuka trusted Septimal Moon, now. He knew that he always should have. They were not the bad ones, Seimei was the lying, evil one.

Nakahira sighed, "They don't know any better. The truth is with held from them. They know nothing of Seimei's crimes. If Seimei were to tell them to fight the Septimal Moon counsel, they would, simply because they don't know the truth."

* * *

For the rest of the press conference, Soubi and Kiyoshi were asked thousands of questions like how they didn't notice Ritsuka's disappearance sooner, more about Soubi's history, about Kiyoshi's parenting, why they thought Seimei had taken Ritsuka, and so many more. Finally, at almost ten pm, the reporters started to clear up. By eleven they were able to be back on the road.

At the end, the crowd was about three times the size of when they started. It wasn't just reporters; it was also civilians coming to listen to the story. They must've repeated the story about five times over. The crowd had been especially interested in the 'person', as Soubi told them, who had been sent to kill him.

They had slipped the words 'Fighter' and 'Sacrifice' into their speeches occasionally, but not in places where it would be out of place. This way, nothing would be suspected but units watching would know.

The reporters had left saying that it'd be all over the news in less than an hour. Fourteen had asked for interviews afterward, which they had given. Five woman and two men reporters had asked Soubi out. Three had promised later interviews. Even the director of one of the enormous news companies had talked to Soubi and Kiyoshi. He had seemed ecstatic about the huge story, and had promised to feature primarily them on his network the next day.

When they finally got back to Seven Voices, Soubi was having breathing issues and problems walking again. He leaned on Kiyoshi again as the other man took him back to the ICU. The curtain was pulled so that it was dividing the room again. Kiyoshi helped him into the bed and grinned wide.

"Why are you smiling like that again?" Soubi glared at him, knowing that he had probably just had another one of his ideas.

"I have a good feeling about this," Kiyoshi's smirk just grew wider. "Hey, get some sleep for once, will you? If you don't then I'll just get Nagisa to sedate you again."

Soubi laid back, closing his eyes, tired from the day, "Yeah. See you tomorrow."

* * *

**long chapter is loooong. So I'll try to keep this short.**

**I'm going to start talking about some of the characters in my author's notes staarting with the next chapter.**

**HOLY SHIT GUYS, 80 REVIEWS? I was extremely happy with the response I got for the last chapter, so I updated as fast as I could. I WANT TO TRY FOR AT LEAST A HUNDRED REVIEWS! Well, not in the next chapter, of course. Maybe in the next three or four, though.**

**Oh boy, this AN is getting long-ish. ANYWAYS, I have most of this story planned out in my head. In my mind, there are 3-4 'parts' to the story. We're in the first one which I titled 'Seimei'. Though we're nearly at the end of that one, this story probably won't end soon. :D **

**No chapter tomorrow. I'm getting out patient surgery. Maybe the next day though, if you guys review :D  
KEEP UP THE AWESOME WORK. I LOVE YOU GUYS.**

**Wish me luck for tomorrow,**

**~Wolfie  
**


	15. Day 019

**Day 019**

"Hey, Soubi," Somebody was shaking Soubi awake, hissing his name. He pushed the hand away, still exhausted from earlier. "Soubi, get up."

"Leave me alone," Soubi growled, swatting the hand away again. It was Kiyoshi, waking him up in the middle of the night again. "Let me sleep."

"Soubi, wake up or I will yank that IV out of your hand as violently as I possibly can."

Soubi flexed his right hand, finding that he had an IV needle in it again. His breathing was easier since something was blowing air into his nose. He opened his eyes to complete darkness, the only light being the light from Kiyoshi's laptop.

"Tell me why the hell you woke me up _before I maul you for it_," Soubi threatened. He clawed at the loose tube that went around his neck and just inside his nose. He didn't take it off, though, knowing he'd be coughing and wheezing within seconds.

"Look!" Kiyoshi almost threw the laptop into his lap.

Soubi grabbed his glasses off the table, his eyes adjusting to the bright light from the computer. "What's this…?" Kiyoshi had been on the front page of one of the most popular search engine. Right there, first on the list of the most searched words, was Ritsuka's name. Second was Soubi's. Third was Kiyoshi's and fifth was Seimei's. "Holy crap….!" Soubi searched Ritsuka's name, getting about a million hits that had been put up in an hour.

"They already aired the first news segment!" Kiyoshi was more excited than Soubi had ever seen him. "It's gone worldwide, Soubi. They aired the segment about an hour ago. Ritsu has already taken almost a hundred calls from units who want to help. There are millions of blog posts, videos, social network posts, and articles already up! We've got a better reaction than we ever thought we would have out of this."

* * *

Ritsuka glanced at the clock, tears streaming down his face. It was just after one am. Perfect.

Ritsuka and Nakahira had gone back right after the talk in the closet. Ritsuka had took a short nap and then prepared himself to begin getting closer to Seimei. It took him a while to come up with a plan, and even longer to actually decide to go through with it. It hadn't taken long to make himself cry, but now he was trying to build up the courage to go to Seimei's room.

When he was finally ready, Ritsuka carried himself down the hall and across the landing. He paused at Seimei's door though, not knowing if he should knock or not. He decided not to and preceded down another long hallway, his fear and anxiety rising almost to the point of tears again.

He carefully opened the door at the end of the hallway, doing it painfully slowly.

"Ritsuka?" Seimei was lounging on the bed, doing something on a laptop. His room was similar to Ritsuka's in both color and layout even though it was larger. He was wearing a simple t-shirt and loose fabric pants, something that seemed odd for someone like him. He was looking up at Ritsuka with his reading glasses on, his expression worried when he saw Ritsuka's tear-stained face. "What's wrong?"

"Everything," Ritsuka's voice cracked and he felt the tears coming back. It was true, but at least he had hope now. Soubi was still looking for him. "I had a nightmare…"

"What about?" Seimei put his laptop next to him on the bed and patted the spot beside him.

Despite not wanting to with everything he was, Ritsuka went and sat on the bed beside his brother. "Soubi," Ritsuka answered mindlessly, sitting with his knees to his chest. He let his brother wrap his arms around him and hold him close against his chest. "Why did you lie about him, Seimei?"

"Because he might as well be dead," Seimei sighed and then continued on with a softer voice. "If he's not dead now, he's probably fatally injured and will die soon. I'm sorry, Ritsuka. You're here now. With me. There's nothing you can do about that. I know you loved him."

_He's not dead, you damn idiot_, Ritsuka thought defiantly, though he said nothing. Seimei underestimated Soubi. Whoever he sent out to kill him had probably failed.

After a little while, Seimei let go of Ritsuka, smiling at him. For once, his smile didn't seem sadistic or evil in any way. It was like how Seimei used to smile at him. "Do you want to stay in here tonight?"

_No._ "Yes."

Seimei patted Ritsuka's head as the teenager slipped under the warm covers of the bed. Almost scowling with disgust and hatred, he snuggled close to his older brother, watching him play an online game on his laptop. Ritsuka's eyes began to drift shut as he did and he tried to imagine himself with Soubi, instead of Seimei.

"Are you asleep?" Seimei was touching one of Ritsuka's fake ears, running his hand up and down it. _Oh god, are you really thinking about fucking me now?_ Ritsuka fought to not to pull away from him. "I guess you are," Seimei murmured, gently pulling at the ear. "Goodnight, Ritsuka."

Ritsuka heard Seimei shut his laptop and place it on the bedside table, shutting off the light. He settled down beside Ritsuka, pulling him close against him. Ritsuka shivered, not because he was cold but because he was creeped out. Seimei froze, but didn't say or do anything more.

Ritsuka awoke in tears again from an actual nightmare about Soubi. To his shock, he was clutching Seimei's shirt in his sleep. He quickly let go, whimpering and accidently waking Seimei.

"What's wrong?" His voice was a simple whisper. "Another nightmare?" His half opened eyes looked right into Ritsuka's, his expression worried again. Ritsuka didn't answer, instead pulling the covers over his head and closing his eyes.

Ritsuka felt Seimei put a hand on his head, stroking his hair. It had been a horrible, horrible dream about Soubi dying in a gruesome death caused by Seimei. He didn't want to go back to sleep in fear that he'd dream it again. He couldn't watch that again.

"Don't cry, Ritsuka," Seimei was saying even though Ritsuka wasn't listening. He could hear footsteps distantly, fast and frantic, pounding onto the ground, trying to get somewhere _fast_. "…Ritsuka? Are you okay?"

"Seimei!" Nisei yelled, bursting through the door to the room. The door slammed open, almost busting off its hinges. Nisei stood in the doorway, breathing hard. Seimei was staring at him with _murderous_ eyes, looking as if he was about to kill Nisei with some concealed knife or other weapon. "They're…they're on the news!"

"_What_?" Seimei snarled at him, looking even meaner.

"Soubi and Kiyoshi," Ritsuka gasped, knowing there must be some sort of mistake. Kiyoshi was his father's name, the man who probably hadn't even noticed his disappearance. "They're all over the internet and the news!"

Seimei grabbed the laptop angrily, quickly pulling up some video. Ritsuka felt like he was going into some sort of shock. Soubi was on camera, talking about an attack on him with far away eyes. Behind him was Ritsuka's own father. Ritsuka gaped at the video in front of him, dated earlier the previous day. It wasn't just that Soubi had gone on camera to help the search for Ritsuka, but also that he actually had Kiyoshi with him.

"…Over a million views," Seimei was muttering. He looked up at Nisei with blazing eyes. "How the hell is he still alive? My office. Now." He growled through clenched teeth. He then seemed to realize that Ritsuka was lying beside him and started to say something, but the boy was already out the door, not even knowing where he was going.

Nakahira looked shocked when Ritsuka came to his room. He had showed him where it was and Ritsuka had found himself coming to him when he ran out of Seimei's room.

Nakahira was sitting at his desk, writing something down. He quickly shut off the small television when he saw Ritsuka, but Ritsuka had seen that it was someone talking about Soubi and Kiyoshi's story.

"Hey kiddo," Nakahira looked up at him, abandoning whatever he was writing. "I thought you were in bed."

"I was," Ritsuka agreed. "I was with Seimei." Nakahira looked even more surprised that he had been with Seimei. "I…you know…_heard_."

"Are you okay?"

Ritsuka went over to him, curious about what he had been doing. On the papers spread out on the table were full of complex equations and notes about things Ritsuka couldn't understand. "I'm fine," He answered, still staring at the notes. "What's all this mean?"

Nakahira sighed and Ritsuka glanced up at him, seeing a complex expression on his face, "I'm just trying to find the Truth, as I have been for years now."

Ritsuka wanted to ask what the truth was, but Nakahira looked as though he didn't want to talk about it. Instead he asked, "Do you mind if I stay in here for a while?"

Nakahira patted him on the head, seemingly relieved that Ritsuka didn't ask any more about his work, "Of course it's alright."

"Do you mind turning the news back on?" Ritsuka wanted to watch his father's and Soubi's interview. He still could barely believe that they had gone on camera and that his own father was working with Soubi. Did that mean that Kiyoshi actually cared about Ritsuka? Why hadn't he ever showed it?

Nakahira nodded, turning the television back on. Ritsuka sat on the floor against the bed, watching the interview for the next few hours.

* * *

Kiyoshi had been reading a recent article about the press conference out loud somewhere around three am when Soubi suddenly remembered something. He had been lying on the hospital bed, eyes closed, listening to the article and the writers' opinions of it. Kiyoshi had offered to read, due to Soubi's underlying exhaustion and took no notice once the younger Fighter's eyes shot open and he gasped abruptly.

_Ritsuka tried to contact me_, Kiyoshi had been somewhere in the middle of the article when the thought had gone through Soubi's head. He remembered the fight, how Ritsuka had told him that he was close. Had it been a hallucination induced by Shapeless? _It was before that thing stabbed me_, he told himself.

How had Ritsuka known that he was close? Had he somehow heard the sounds of them fighting? Soubi falling into the lake? The sound of fire? It couldn't have been any of those. Soubi would've known if Ritsuka was _that_ close. He would've sensed something, even in the heat of the battle. How else would Ritsuka have known Soubi was close?

_My battle radius_. The realization hit Soubi just as suddenly as the first had. His battle radius was huge due to years of battling at high level. It was also quite distinguishable from others'. Ritsuka must have felt it and somehow recognized it.

Kiyoshi finally noticed Soubi's distress when he finished reading the article. "What's the matter?" He looked down at Soubi, who was lost in thought.

"Ritsuka's near," Soubi breathed. He could almost feel Ritsuka close. He wanted, needed, to find him. "He contacted me. He must've heard my battle radius."

Kiyoshi made a small sound of surprise, "How big is it?"

Soubi thought for a minute, "Somewhere around ten miles."

* * *

Ritsuka fell asleep watching the news and had a sweet dream about Soubi after seeing him all over the news. People were making a huge deal about it. Ritsuka had watched well into the morning and it was the only thing they had showed all day. Soubi and Kiyoshi had made an elaborate cover story that was based purely on the truth. They had modified parts of it, such as Soubi 'dating' Seimei. There were also some things Ritsuka didn't know such as how Seimei used to touch him in his sleep, which was creepy. They also said the words 'Fighter' and 'Sacrifice' a lot, probably to gain help from other units.

Ritsuka had fallen asleep somewhere around eight. He woke up in the late afternoon, finding that the story was still airing. Ritsuka stared at the screen, watching yet another newscaster analyze the story and say that Seimei was a worldwide threat and that Ritsuka had to be found _now_. Nakahira was nowhere to be found, so Ritsuka started flipping channels, finding almost the same type of thing on every news channel. Soubi and Kiyoshi must've had a huge effect on the media, for them to be giving it so much publicity.

A knock at the door startled Ritsuka, making him jump. The person knocking came in, her face matching Ritsuka's surprise.

"Do I….know you?" Ritsuka stared at the girl, swearing that he'd seen her before. She had long, curly green hair that was pulled back into pigtails that reached her mid back. Her bright brown eyes met his, holding his gaze curiously. She wore a red sweatshirt and jeans, with a long white lab coat over it. The most noticeable thing was the fact that she didn't have ears and that she wore a bandage around her head.

"You must be that Aoyagi kid Nakahira keeps talking about," She muttered under her breath. Ritsuka pouted and she looked a bit taken aback. "Uh…I mean, good morning Master Aoyagi-kun." She bowed politely to him. Even though her voice held no sarcasm, her face was disgusted when she bowed. It confused Ritsuka why everyone spoke so politely to him, as if they were afraid he was about to hurt him.

"Please don't speak to me so formally," Ritsuka told her innocently. "What's your name? Do I know you? You look familiar."  
The young woman looked at him for a long time, not moving from the doorway at all. "You're really not like Seimei, are you?" She said finally, coming inside the room and setting the papers she was holding on the desk with the rest of Nakahira's things. She then turned to the confused teenager on the bed. "I'm Chouma. I'm seventeen and I work with Nakahira. I've been here for as long as he has. I have a family somewhere. I met my big brother for the first time in a long time when you were fighting Bloodless with your Fighter. Seimei caught me and dragged me back here. He took me in the first place for backup."

Ritsuka smiled, "Well, that clears up most of my questions." Actually, it left one. It was one Ritsuka was trying to work out in his head. Soubi didn't have any family. This couldn't be Natsou and Youji's 'sister' because they were Ritsuka's age and she'd said _big_ brother. This woman looked nothing like either of the Bloodless pair. That left one person. "Wait…is your big brother Kio?"

She glanced at him again from where she had gone to organize Nakahira's desk. "Yes," She answered. "I suppose we really do look alike. Do you know where Nakahira went?"

Ritsuka shook his head. He had been wondering where the man went himself, "Sorry, no."

"Alright. I'm going to go look in the lab," Chouma headed for the door, but looked back. "Maybe I'll tell him to bring you down sometime, kid."

* * *

"You're staying here for the next few days," Nagisa told Soubi, holding his file in one hand.

"No," Soubi rejected firmly. "I can't. I have to look for Ritsuka… I can't possibly stay here for any longer."

Nagisa had woken him up hours after Kiyoshi left. The older man had told him to rest while he talked with Ritsu. Soubi had fallen asleep eventually after being troubled by thoughts of Ritsuka hating him and if Seimei had brainwashed him into hating him.

Seimei had a sort of convincing way of talking to people. He could turn someone was totally against something to being completely for it in a matter of seconds. It was very possible that if Ritsuka didn't hate him already, that Seimei had brainwashed him to hate Soubi. What would happen when Soubi rescued Ritsuka?

"I said," Nagisa's tone was commanding and tight and she looked at him with that look that meant business. "That you're _not leaving for a few days_." Soubi started to protest, but fell quiet when he saw that she actually meant it. Nagisa continued, "You're condition has gotten worse since the press conference. There are about a thousand reporters waiting for an interview, but I'm not going to let you see a single one of them. You are going to stay in the intensive care unit until your lung function returns to normal. Hiro did a little bit of permanent damage to your body, since we weren't able to get the poison out fast enough. This damage includes the tissue of your lungs, so I will beat the hell out of you if I ever see you smoking again."

It startled Soubi a bit, but something in him had been expecting this. He had taken up the habit in response of being treated so badly by Ritsu and Seimei, and when Ritsuka was around he still did it because of that reason. Now that his bond was breaking with Seimei and he had something to occupy himself with, he might be able to quit.

"Yeah… I understand," He said, picking up his sketchbook and starting to draw again. Nagisa's gaze softened, but she didn't say anything more.

Nagisa wasn't being annoying, like usual. She was actually a good doctor, which surprised Soubi. He had known that she was one, but had never seen her practice.

"Get more rest today," Nagisa took his sketchpad and pencil away from him. "We're going to start talking about strategies about finding Ritsuka and infiltrating Seimei soon."

* * *

**I sort of wanted to do a 'cute' (nonviolent, nonabusive) scene between Ritsuka and Seimei. **

**Seimei is NOT HAPPY about the news coverage XD**

**ANyways, I wanted to talk a bit about Kiyoshi here. He's mainly in this fic because Soubi needed to be on his side, but be able to talk him out of his crazy antics. He's basically here to be Soubi's counterpart. His back story I based on my own theories. Anybody remember the scene where Ritsu gave Soubi to Seimei? He said 'the eldest son of the Aoyagi household' or something like that. That gave me the idea that Seimei had to have someone before him that was part of his family who was on the Septimal Moon counsel. That's my theory anyways.**

**THANKS FOR ALL THE REVIEWS! I hope we can break 100 soon :D **

**Oh, and my surgery went fine, for anybody wondering.**

**KEEP REVIEWING if you want moar chapters!**

**~Wolfie**

**ps: I have a poll up for a secondary pairing in this fic.  
**


	16. Day 022

**Day 022**

"Good morning, Ritsuka," Seimei woke him up by placing a kiss on the teen's lips. Ritsuka squirmed away from him, rolling onto his stomach in his brother's large bed. He snuggled under the covers, wanting just a few more minutes of not having to deal with Seimei.

Seimei laughed, the sound of it almost drawing Ritsuka out. "Ah, you were never a morning person, dear brother." He pressed another light kiss onto Ritsuka's lips, holding the child close against him. Ritsuka simply wanted to shove him away and wash Seimei's scent off of him.

For two days Ritsuka had been trying to give off the impression that he wanted to be close to Seimei. It seemed to have started to work since Seimei was affectionate, but not mean or sexual. He was sort of acting like the Seimei Ritsuka used to know. Ritsuka knew, though, that it was _just _an act. The real Seimei was the one who had beat up Nakahira, raped Ritsuka, tried to kill Soubi, probably _forced_ everyone to address him as master Aoyagi, whipped his students, and told lies.

When Seimei had to go do whatever he did, Ritsuka didn't care to follow him, and so he explored the manor instead. He ventured into the towers, found the kitchen, looked at portraits that freaked him out, read in the library, and explored almost every place in the manor. Today, he resolved, he would go outside.

At night, before going into Seimei's room, Ritsuka would go into Nakahira's room to watch more coverage. Even after two days, the media storm hadn't died down at all. Ritsuka watched analysis of the coverage and also new interviews with his father. None were with Soubi, though, which scared Ritsuka. Kiyoshi stated in a couple of the interviews that he was in an intensive care unit because of an attack. Chouma sometimes came to Nakahira's room, too, and the two talked in quiet voices while Ritsuka watched the coverage.

Ritsuka poked his head out of the covers, looking into Seimei's eyes. He took a chance and closed his eyes, leaning forward and pressing his lips against Seimei's. He tried not to shiver with repulsion. Ritsuka hated the feel of his lips; they, like his hands, were nothing like Soubi's soft, warm lips.

Ritsuka involuntarily gasped when he felt Seimei's tongue poking at his lips. It invaded his mouth, slithering its way inside. It was gross and Ritsuka hated it. This was incest. Ritsuka was ready to admit that he was gay for Soubi and that wasn't wrong because Ritsuka loved him. He liked it when _Soubi_ kissed him like this, but when Seimei did. This was just wrong. Having sex with his brother was wrong.

It was impossible to imagine that it was Soubi kissing him because Ritsuka was so grossed out by it. He longed for it to be Soubi. Ritsuka reminded himself that he was doing this _for_ Soubi. He began to kiss back, still extremely repulsed, but thinking of his blonde Fighter.

When Ritsuka finally pulled away, breathing hard, Seimei was smiling again. He placed one hand on Ritsuka's hip and the other on his cheek and leaned down. His lips brushed against Ritsuka's neck once, twice, three times. _I want to make him stop…but I want to see Soubi again…I have to let him continue._

"Do you want me to stay here with you today?" Seimei murmured into Ritsuka's neck, his breath both warm and cold against Ritsuka's skin.

_Hell no._ "No, Seimei, you have to go… people are…" Ritsuka swallowed, trying to find the right words to tell Seimei he didn't want to see him. "…Counting on you."

Seimei sighed, "You're right."

He got out of bed, leaving Ritsuka while he went to the bathroom to shower. Ritsuka drifted back off to sleep, knowing that it was well before dawn. He had yet another dream about Soubi.

* * *

"Do you think you can draw us a diagram?" Ritsu asked Soubi.

Soubi had been ordered on bed rest for the past two days. Nagisa had actually handcuffed his left hand to the bed railing because she had found him out of the room. The day before was the day they began talking about Ritsuka hearing Soubi's battle frequency and calling out to him. It had been a short talk, but today was the day they were going to be productive.

Nagisa, Seven, and Ritsu, all the remaining members of Septimal Moon, were there as well as Kiyoshi, two other teams, a detective who was also a Fighter, and three government officials.

"Of course I can," Soubi glared at him, knowing that Ritsu couldn't see him. He grabbed onto the sketchpad, still frowning at Ritsu.

"Let's start then," Ritsu ignored his dirty look. "Your battle radius is ten miles. Ritsuka is somewhere in that. Draw that."

Soubi couldn't stand being ordered around by him, but he didn't make any comments. This was for Ritsuka. This was going to bring them closer to him.

Once Soubi had drawn a large circle on the paper, Kiyoshi spoke up. "Ritsuka is obviously nowhere in the school," Kiyoshi reasoned. Soubi doodled the school in the middle of the circle. "You were about two miles out into the woods. The woods surround the school for at least twenty miles. Ritsuka has to be somewhere in that." Soubi sketched in the woods, placing a small dot at where he had fought Hiro.

"He could be hiding in the old headquarters," Seven offered, pointing to a spot not far from the school on Soubi's diagram.

"No," Ritsu rejected calmly. "Seimei wouldn't take the risk to hide out there again. He probably has something much larger."

"Hiro said something about a 'manor'," Nagisa put in. "She said it looks like a castle. She also referred to some sort of 'school'."

"How can we trust her?" Soubi frowned again, not liking the prospect of balancing a decision on some half-dead little girl's distorted memories.

"We have to try," Ritsu said.

"Hey," Kiyoshi looked thoughtful, as if remembering something important. "In my first couple years of school I remember going to some sixteenth century castle about ten miles in. We stopped going because it was too long of a walk."

"That had to be at least thirty years ago," Ritsu sounded like he was taking it into consideration. "But, yes, I do recall there being an old feudal castle built by an Englishman in the sixteenth century."

"Should we look there?" Nagisa asked him.

Soubi was the one to speak up, instead of Ritsu, "We can't just _look_ there. Seimei's way too careful for that. He'll mask whatever's there before we can do anything. We have to take a heat survey, and we can't do that from the ground."

There was a long, painstaking silence. Finally one of the government officials stood, "Can any of you drive a helicopter?"

* * *

When Seimei left, he pressed a kiss to Ritsuka's head, but not saying anything. He smelled of too much cologne and was wearing a full suit. Ritsuka briefly wondered what exactly he did before rolling over and going back to sleep.

He apparently overslept, because the next thing he knew, Nakahira was shaking him awake. "Ritsuka, wake up," The man gently nudged him a few times, rousing him from sleep.

Ritsuka jumped, realizing he had just slept almost a full night in Seimei's bed. He jolted upright, almost accidently hitting Nakahira in the head. He spotted Chouma standing in the doorway, arms crossed.

"Seimei wants you to join him for lunch in an hour," He told him, helping the groggy teen out of bed.

"Why?" Ritsuka groaned, his plans for the day ruined. He didn't want to do anything with Seimei. He dreaded the nights with his brother. The daytime was the time to research ways to get out and become familiar with his surroundings, not to spend time with Seimei against his will.

"Come on, Ritsuka," Nakahira led him across the landing and back to his room.

"I don't want to…" Ritsuka tried, knowing it wouldn't work.

"Go take a bath," Nakahira ushered him into the bathroom, ignoring his pleas.

An hour later, Ritsuka was led downstairs, and into Seimei's office, where he was left alone. Ritsuka nervously stepped in, playing nervously with the tie he had to wear. Seimei was at his desk, writing something down, talking into a cell phone. He raised his eyes to Ritsuka, gasping as he saw the teen. He hung up his phone quickly, still gaping at Ritsuka.

"Ritsuka," Seimei said, getting up and coming to Ritsuka. He pulled him close, resting his hands on Ritsuka's hips. "You look…sexy."

_Don't call me that_. _Do you even realize how wrong that is, or do you just not care? _Ritsuka put on a forced smile, looking up at Seimei and hoping that he believed it.

"Would you care to join me for lunch?" Seimei took his hand, holding it tightly in his own, leading him to the wooden door on the west side of the room. They walked out on a large balcony where there was a picnic basket and a blanket was set out.

"Seimei…what's this?" Ritsuka watched him sit on the blanket against the railing.

Seimei smiled at him, motioning for Ritsuka to sit with him, "It's a picnic, Ritsuka."

Shivering again, Ritsuka sat between Seimei's legs, his back against his chest. Surprisingly, Seimei didn't do anything sexual and instead began to set out the food. Ritsuka didn't eat much and he noted that Seimei didn't eat at all. Ritsuka let Seimei hold him when he was done.

Ritsuka wanted information. He knew that Seimei was at least a little suspicious. Ritsuka had, after all, told him he hated him and a couple days afterwards, started acting friendly with him. Maybe he would still be able to get _something_ out of Seimei.

"Why do you hate Septimal Moon?" Ritsuka asked after simply being held for a while.

Seimei sighed, stroking Ritsuka's hair with one hand. "They're the bad people, Ritsuka," He said. "They tried to kill me. They tried to stop my plans. My plans to…cleanse this world of everything dirty in it. Those who are on my side will be saved. Those who aren't may be killed."

Ritsuka wanted to run away fast from his brother at that point, but didn't. Seimei might tell him more. The older boy was kissing Ritsuka's neck again, trying to distract him from further questions.

"I trust you," Ritsuka lied. "I support you. I really have…no other choice. I just have to live with the fact that Soubi is never going to come find me. Seimei…I guess I love you." More lies. Ritsuka didn't like lying, but it had to be done.

Seimei didn't stop kissing, but he started licking and nipping, too. "I love you too, dear brother," He murmured.

Ritsuka closed his eyes, picturing himself in the same situation with Soubi. He moaned out Seimei's name, knowing that's what he'd be doing if he had just told Soubi he loved him and the man was kissing his neck.

"Good boy," Seimei pulled the shock collar down a little. One of his hands unbuttoned Ritsuka's jacket, coming to a rest on his still clothed chest. The other was doing something with the collar. Ritsuka heard it unlatch and Seimei removed it.

"What…?" Ritsuka felt his neck. It was slightly sore from being shocked and having the collar on for so long, but he couldn't feel any marks.

"Can I trust you, Ritsuka?" Seimei's voice was serious and he stopped licking his neck. "Do you promise never to betray me? Remember, Ritsuka, you can't break a promise. Whatever you say must be the truth."

Ritsuka's heart began beating franticly. His mind was racing. Ritsuka knew the power of words; they could make or break a person. Soubi used them in his spells, which had taught Ritsuka the true power of words. When he saw Yuiko getting bullied by the others at school, Ritsuka knew how much it hurt her and that he could stop it. He hated breaking promises and lying…but sometimes it just had to be done.

"I promise," Ritsuka whispered. He may hate Seimei, but Ritsuka still didn't like making promises he knew he was going to break. "I'll never betray you."

"If you do, I'll never forgive you," Seimei raised both hands to his neck. Ritsuka felt the chain of a loose necklace being put around his neck. Seimei latched it and then put the collar back on. Ritsuka felt the necklace, finding that it was some sort of locket.

"What…?" Ritsuka began to say, not finding the right words.

Seimei put his arms around him tightly, resting his head on his shoulder. He held onto one of Ritsuka's hands, clasping it within his own. When he spoke his voice was soft and almost gentle, "Inside it is something very important to me. Don't ever take it off or let anybody have it. Please, Ritsuka…do this for me."

* * *

**Five more reviews until 100! **

**I'll write something special for it. I'm thinking a prologue with Soubi in those two days before Ritsuka woke up. I've already started it :D**

**DJFHKFFHIUFH 100? That's almost 40 more than I have for Poisonous. This is my most reviewed fic and also my second most viewed. I'M SO FREAKING EXCITED!**

**This fic actually started as a plot bunny I decided to write at like 3 a.m. It sat on my laptop for almost a month because I was debating putting it up. I really didn't think people wold like it since it was so unoriginal. Finally, I decided to put it up and I was like 'HOLY CRAP, PEOPLE ACTUALLY LIKE THIS? WHY?" So I wrote more, and it started to evolve into what it is now. **

**I also sort of debated putting Kio's sister in this fic (and also Naahira and Kiyoshi at first) because we don't know much about her. I really wanted to avoid using fan-characters, so I was really torn about Hiro/Shapeless, but I think you guys recieved he/she/it pretty well. Besides they're not really a main character.**

**THANK YOU SO MUCH, ALL OF YOU. I cannot express my love for all you readers and reviewers! Seriously, if I could bake without nearly blowing my kitchen to pieces, I would send you all cake. But I can't so you all get digital cake!**

**KEEP REVIEWING, PLEASE!**

**~Wolfie  
**


	17. prologue and future chapter excerpts

**Day 000.1**

_Ritsuka is going to be pissed at me._ Soubi stood outside of Ritsuka's school as he did almost every day, smoking and waiting for the school day to end. They had fought the day before. Actually, they hadn't _fought_; Ritsuka had just yelled at Soubi and then kicked him out. Yes, Ritsuka was going to be pissed to see him outside his school a day after he had yelled at him so much.

Soubi sighed, blowing smoke into the cold air. He longed for Ritsuka to return his affections, but he doubted that would happen after Ritsuka had told him that he hated him. Just when he thought they were getting closer…

The fight had hurt Soubi more than he would like to admit. Ritsuka had called him a liar, said that he hated him, and told him to get out and never come back. Soubi wondered if he had really meant it. Of course, he wasn't going to stop seeing Ritsuka, even though he had ordered him to. Distancing himself from Ritsuka that much would be too hard for Soubi.

He really did love Ritsuka, even if the boy didn't believe it. Soubi had stopped lying to him, even though he still couldn't tell him anything about Septimal Moon. He loved him more than he loved anything or anyone else. He wished desperately that he could tell Ritsuka everything he knew, but he couldn't. Maybe if Ritsuka didn't mind Soubi walking him home, Soubi would tell him he was sorry.

The school bell sounded, drawing Soubi out of his thoughts. He waited, looking for Ritsuka, spotting his pink-haired friend in the crowd. Yayoi was with her, but Ritsuka was nowhere to be found.

_He probably just got held after class._ Soubi severely doubted that. Ritsuka was a good kid. He never acted out in class and he hadn't been out lately, so he didn't have any tests to make up. Perhaps he was just avoiding seeing Soubi.

"Soubi-san!" Yuiko yelled, running towards him with Yayoi following her reluctantly. Soubi liked Yuiko, even though she had a huge crush on Ritsuka. Ritsuka seemed oblivious to it, though. She was a good friend to him, though. Ritsuka needed that.

"Good afternoon, Yuiko-chan," Soubi greeted, still trying to spot Ritsuka. Something was worrying him, though he couldn't quite put his finger on it. It was almost like a sense of impending doom. Something was horribly wrong.

Yuiko looked confused, "Not to be rude, but why are you here today?"

"What do you mean?" Where was Ritsuka? What could be so wrong today? Soubi could see something was worrying Yuiko, too.

Yuiko looked at her feet, drawing circles in the dirt with them. Yayoi looked a bit anxious, too, but he always seemed to act strangely around Soubi. He supposed it was understandable since Soubi was older and could be quite _affectionate_ around Ritsuka. Today he looked worse, though.

"What is it?" Soubi tried again, wanting to know what was worrying them. "Did Ritsuka act up in class today?" _If he did, it was probably my fault._

Like an idiot, when Ritsuka had told Soubi to get out when they had fought the previous day, Soubi had actually left. He wanted to take it back. It had stung badly when Ritsuka had said he hated him. Soubi had simply left when told to do so, even though he knew he shouldn't. His anger at Soubi acting so selfishly might've made Ritsuka take it out at school.

"Ritsuka wasn't in class today!" Yuiko blurted out, her words coming out in a jumbled mess.

_Not in class…?_ "I have to go," Soubi told them, rushing off in the direction of Ritsuka's house. He heard Yuiko call after him, but he didn't stop. He dialed Ritsuka's number, trying to reach him. It rang six times before Ritsuka's voicemail picked up. "Ritsuka, I'm worried. Call me," Soubi breathed. Something was terribly, terribly wrong.

Soubi ran to Ritsuka's house, arriving within a couple minutes. All the lights were off and no sound came from the house. He searched for the key Ritsuka had given him, unlocking the front door.

The first floor was eerily dark and silent. Everything was suspiciously neat, not a single thing out of place. It almost reminded Soubi of the way Seimei liked things to be. Not a single sound was to be heard in the house. Every door was open, even the one to Ritsuka's parents' room. Soubi searched the entire first floor, finding no sign of _anything_. He couldn't even find evidence that anyone lived there.

Most of the second floor was the same way. Soubi searched all of it before finally entering Ritsuka's room. The room's condition, he found, was completely different from the rest of the house. For one, the door was closed, though not locked.

It shocked Soubi at how messy it way. Clothes were strewn all over the room. The pictures were intact, but torn down from the wall. Stepping inside, Soubi immediately noticed the good amount of blood on the walls. He was sure it was Ritsuka's. The bed was a mess, too. The sheets, blankets, and pillows were all torn up and thrown across the floor and on the bed. Distinct mud prints were visible on the carpet and the sliding glass door was scratched and had handprints of blood smeared on it.

Suddenly, Soubi felt absolutely scared to death as he realized what happened. He desperately looked for some sort of note or even his cell phone, but he found neither. It was obvious. Ritsuka had been kidnapped when Soubi left after their fight.

He would've loved to believe that Ritsuka had just gotten mad and went somewhere to be alone and had fallen asleep there, but then there wouldn't have been all the signs of a struggle. There was no other explanation.

Somebody had to have known about this. Somebody had to have heard something. Soubi went around to the neighbor's houses, asking if they'd seen or heard something. Everybody shook their heads, answering no, they hadn't. They shut the door quickly on him after answering, going back to their regular activities. Giving up on that idea, Soubi moved on to calling Ritsuka's friends.

First, Soubi tried his teacher, Shinonome Hitomi.

"Hello?" She picked up on the first ring. "Who is this?"

"It's Soubi," He told her. He didn't like her since she was a teacher, but Ritsuka was so fond of her.

"A-Agatsuma-san?" Hitomi stuttered, causing Soubi to roll his eyes. _Why did I even bother to call this woman?_ "Why are you calling? Is Ritsuka-kun okay? Why didn't he come to school today? Is he hurt?"

"Actually, I called about Ritsuka," Soubi sighed, finding no way to dodge her million questions. "Was he acting strangely in school yesterday?"

Hitomi hesitated, probably thinking about Ritsuka's behavior in class. "No," She informed him calmly. "He fell asleep in class, but that's normal. He started looking out the window instead of listening about fifteen minutes before class ended, but that's usual, too."

_That sounds about the time I arrive at the school._ "How have his grades been?" Soubi was looking for some sort of clue that Ritsuka had known something was going to happen. His mother's beatings were escalating lately. She may have finally snapped and ran away with Ritsuka. Would Ritsuka have gone with her willingly? If he had, there would've been no signs of struggle. Still, if he hadn't gone willingly, wouldn't Misaki have packed clothes for him? Soubi had already checked the drawers and the closet. Nothing of Ritsuka's was gone.

"Very good as usual," Hitomi said, sounding a bit anxious. "What happened, Agatsuma-san? Is something wrong with Ritsuka?"  
"I can't really tell," Soubi said slowly, trying to work out what could've happened. "Since he appears to be missing."

**That's the end of the bonus chapter. Now, I feel as though I owe all of you more than this little bonus story, so here's a couple excerpts from future chapters:**

Sitting up, Soubi reached for the phone on the bedside table, dialing a familiar number. He needed somebody to talk to, somebody that could give him advice when he needed it the most. His cell phone was short-circuited from Soubi's fall into the lake, but he knew this number from memory and could only hope they would pick up.

"…Hello…?" Kio's groggy voice answered. "Whoever this is, I'm not taking your fricken call at one in the morning."

"Kio, wait!" Soubi panicked. He had no idea what he was going to say. He couldn't explain anything to Kio without explaining that he was a Fighter. Even to do that, he'd need clearance from two members of Septimal Moon.

"Soubi?" Kio seemed to wake up a bit, realizing his panicked friend was on the other line. "I haven't heard from you in over ten days. I heard you got hurt. Oh, and I watched the news coverage like you said. Are you okay? I've been worried."

_Screw the clearance, he needs to know._ "Listen, Kio," Soubi started. "There's a secret that I've been keeping from you since we met. I think… you need to hear it. Do you have a couple of hours?"

**From another chapter:**

"Pull yourself up," Kiyoshi's voice came through the tiny speaker in his ear. The man was watching him from someplace high up with high power binoculars. Soubi didn't quite know where from, but he assumed he was up in a tree. "It looks like you'll be able the get a foot hold on the window sill. The next floor up there's a balcony, and then the floor after that is the top."

"Alright," Soubi hauled himself upwards, getting a stable foot hold on the window sill and pressing his hands against the window. Nobody had noticed him yet, but the cries of battle were getting louder and louder. He glanced up, seeing the next two stories he had to climb.

It was suspiciously easy. Too easy. There had to be some sort of thing ready to kill him up there. A hidden gunman, maybe? It seemed like Seimei to hire somebody for that, but he was almost sure they'd fled at the fire alarm. The fire also limited Soubi's time, even though they had started it on the other side of the building. It was growing quickly, according to Kiyoshi.

After taking a very short break to catch his breath, Soubi continued on, well aware of the danger he was facing and what he'd be up against.

**From another chapter:**

Ritsuka grabbed his hand, needing to feel Soubi with him after so many days of being apart. "Lay with me," Ritsuka whispered, pulling gently on his hand. "Please, Soubi." _I love you. I love you so much I don't even know how to tell you. _He wanted Soubi to understand, but he didn't know how to say it. He was too tired to try to find the words, now. All he knew was that he wanted to be held close and never let go.

Soubi didn't answer right away and Ritsuka started to worry. "Okay," Soubi finally agreed, laying down beside and facing Ritsuka. Ritsuka moved close, curling into his chest. For the first time in more than a month, Ritsuka felt safe and out of the reaches of Seimei.

"Ritsuka…"

"Don't leave me," Ritsuka pleaded, not looking up at him. "Stay here with me, please."

Soubi put his arms around Ritsuka's small body, keeping him to him. He stroked the back of Ritsuka's head. "I'm not going to leave you," Soubi told him gently. "I never will. Never again."

**And another one (from the same chapter): **

Soubi put Ritsuka back on the bed on his back, smiling down at him. God, he was beautiful. He almost didn't believe that he had rescued Ritsuka and escaped with him almost flawlessly. It felt a little bit too perfect, but he would worry about that later. Ritsuka was with him now. That was all that mattered.

Ritsuka opened his eyes a little while Soubi was still leaning over him, surprising the older man. He reached up, fingering the collar of Soubi's jacket. "Kiss me," He murmured so quietly Soubi could barely hear him.

"…What?" Soubi wasn't sure if he had heard him correctly. Kiss him? Soubi had been avoiding physical contact also because he wasn't sure if Ritsuka was ready to handle it. He had been raped. That took a huge affect on a person. Maybe Ritsuka was afraid of physical contact, as Soubi had been when Ritsu took his ears.

Ritsuka smiled slightly, "Kiss me."

Soubi leaned down further, pressing his lips gently against Ritsuka's. He felt the physical gap between them close and he enjoyed the feeling of young Ritsuka's soft, full lips. He pulled away after a minute or so and laid back down beside Ritsuka. The boy snuggled back into Soubi's hold, pressing himself into his chest. It was like this that they both fell back asleep.

**That's all for now! The next chapter will probably be up by tomorrow, but don't forget to review this chapter, too.**

**I really hope you like the prologue and the excerpts I've included in here. I tried not to spoil **_**too**_** much, but I tried to give enough away to keep you guys reading. **

**I HAVE 100 REVIEWS **_**AND **_**A FOUR DAY WEEKEND. Can this get any better? **

**Thank you all so much! I feel as though that the feedback really keeps me writing and I think that this story is just getting better. Looking back at earlier chapters, I can see that my writing has actually gotten better. **

**I love you all! Review, please!**

**~Wolfie **


	18. Day 025

**Day 025**

For the next few days, Nagisa required Soubi to be on bed rest. Kiyoshi and she were the only ones allowed to see him. She wouldn't even allow a visit from Ritsu. Soubi hated being handcuffed and forced to be in bed, but he knew it was for the best, so he didn't put up much of a fight.

They didn't talk anymore of finding where Seimei was hidden, mostly because it was obvious where he was. Kiyoshi had let it slip that arrangements were being made by the government officials for a helicopter, due to the need of an aerial survey. The next day after hearing that, Soubi demanded to be on the team for it. Kiyoshi had said that he'd already told Ritsu.

By the third day, Soubi was bored out of his mind. He had resolved to either drawing or sleeping during the day when Kiyoshi was out doing interviews. When he was in, the two would look at articles and the new media coverage that was going on. Even after a week the media storm still hadn't died down. In fact, it was actually larger.

Soubi had been asleep in the late afternoon when an innocent voice woke him up suddenly, "Agatsuma-san!"

Soubi sat up, startled, ready to kill whatever it was when he saw a little girl standing at his bedside. He narrowed his eyes at it, his malice from just a second before nearly gone, "Oh, it's _you_."

"My, you're mean," The girl with the snow white hair complained. Soubi glanced down at her hands, seeing that she had broken the handcuff that had chained her to the bed.

"What do you want?" Soubi growled. He thought about calling for Nagisa, but decided against it since she was probably elsewhere in the hospital.

Hiro's blue eyes blinked at him, no emotion showing other than confusion. "I just wanted to see how you were doing," She stated. "I'm sorry about what I did to you. I wish I could remember exactly what I did, but I can't. Are you part of Septimal Moon, too?"

This wasn't the same thing Soubi had fought by the lake. It couldn't be. He had killed that thing and in its place was this little girl? She was that monster, but she wasn't. She was because they were the same thing, but the girl was just a powerless version of it. She wasn't because this girl was innocent and nonviolent. She didn't even retain clear memories of being a Fighter. It was as if she had gained a new personality and her memories had become blurred when Soubi killed her as a Fighter.

"No, I'm not part of Septimal Moon. I just work with them," It couldn't hurt to talk to her. It wasn't like she could go back to Seimei and tell him everything. She didn't even remember _where_ he was hidden.

"But…you're not a bad person, Agatsuma-san," Hiro cocked her head to the side, still looking confused. "So why are you working with Septimal Moon?"

_This child has been brainwashed_, Soubi realized. _It's not her fault._ It wasn't her fault that she attacked him. It wasn't her fault that she lost her memories. Seimei used some sort of system to brainwash his students into thinking that Septimal Moon was on the bad side.

It reminded Soubi of the stories Ritsuka used to tell him about. Fairytales, that Ritsuka had read while recovering from his memory loss. Ritsuka had told Soubi a couple of the stories. There had always been a bad side and a good side, just as there was now. Except this was way more complicated.

"You've been taught wrong," Soubi sighed, not wanting to go into a full explanation.

"Oh, okay!" It seemed to be enough for her, anyways.

Soubi could hear footsteps coming down the hallway, followed by a voice as she entered the room. "How'd she get out?" Nagisa was looking directly at Hiro, who now had a deer-in-headlights to her. Nagisa glared accusatory at Soubi, who just raised his hand, showing that he hadn't broken the handcuffs as he'd been tempted to so many times.

Kiyoshi walked in behind her, his head hung low. He looked to be just a mess. Soubi hadn't seen him since him since the previous night, but he didn't think much of it. He could tell something was wrong, though.

Hiro was giggling and darting around as Nagisa tried to catch her and get her back in bed. Kiyoshi slowly made his way towards Soubi, sitting in his usual spot beside him. He kept his head down, not even looking towards Soubi.

"What-?"

"Misaki died," Kiyoshi snapped, his head snapping up to look at him. Tears ran down his face, his brown eyes bloodshot. He kept Soubi's gaze for a few moments before hiding his eyes with his hands. He was sobbing hard, almost like Ritsuka used to after his mother's beatings.

Soubi didn't know what to say. He hated Misaki for what she did to Ritsuka. He wasn't glad, though. Misaki _was_ mentally ill. Perhaps she really did love Ritsuka. Soubi wasn't happy she was dead, but he really couldn't grieve for her since he hated her.

"She was murdered," Kiyoshi managed to say between bouts of crying. "The house- the house was set on fire…"

"Fire," Soubi repeated, starting to think. It came to him almost instantly, "Seimei. Nagisa!"

Nagisa stopped chasing Hiro around and looked at him, "What?"

Soubi pulled at the handcuff, "Let me out."

* * *

Ritsuka continued the routine for the next two days, but with two questions occupying his mind. The first was is Soubi alright? And the other was what was in the locket. Ritsuka kept it hidden under his shirts but it was obvious there was something in it. Ritsuka could hear it and it annoyed him to no end.

Chouma began taking care of Ritsuka, as well as Nakahira. The woman reminded Ritsuka of a smarter version of Kio. She also gave Ritsuka the same sense of wanting out that Nakahira did. Nakahira had offered to take Ritsuka outside and Chouma had insisted on coming, too.

People were milling about outside, going in and out of the manor and talking in groups outside.

"Where are we going?" Ritsuka asked Nakahira. The three were headed towards the woods, but the woods on the opposite side of the path that led to the school.

"There's a nice little place not too far from here," Chouma informed him, smiling. At first, she had been reluctant around Ritsuka but she seemed to be warming up to him now.

They headed into the woods, not having to walk very far before they came to a small creak. Nakahira sat on the ground with Chouma beside him. Ritsuka kept looking around, though, sure that he had heard the sound of propellers in the sky.

* * *

"Are you going to be okay here alone?" Soubi asked Kiyoshi from inside the door of the helicopter. Nagisa had let him go when Soubi told her to. He was feeling fine. They had decided to survey the land today instead of wasting any more time.

Kiyoshi hadn't been talking much since his crying bout. His eyes were still bloodshot, but he stepped forward, grabbing Soubi by the shirt collar and pulling him towards him. "Find Seimei," Kiyoshi growled, his eyes full of rage. "And kill him."

Soubi, a little surprised, pulled away and shut the door to the helicopter, settling inside. It was a relatively quiet one, issued by the government and expected to be returned in one piece. An official was driving, Seven being his co-pilot. Soubi sat in the back with Ritsu and Nagisa.

"Ready?" The pilot looked back at them, handing Soubi a pair of headphones to block out the inside noise. At the rest of their confirmation, he was ready to take off.

* * *

When the sirens started, Ritsuka could hear them all the way from inside the woods. They caught Nakahira and Chouma's attention, too. They were loud and made Ritsuka cover his ears. They almost sounded like the fire drill sirens at his school.

"Shit," Nakahira was muttering.

Chouma was looking up at the sky, "It's code red…"

Nakahira grabbed Ritsuka's wrist pulling him upwards forcefully, "We have to get back. We're going into lockdown." He started running as soon as Ritsuka was on his feat. Chouma followed behind them.

_Lockdown?_ Ritsuka thought. _What's going on? _When they broke out of the forest, Ritsuka looked up at the sky, seeing a very low flying helicopter right over the manor.

* * *

"Holy shit," Soubi looked out of the window of the helicopter, seeing the huge sixteenth century manor directly below them. Sirens blared from it, probably signaling that it was going into full lockdown.

"Now we know where he's hiding," Ritsu stated grimly. "Now let's get the hell out of here before we're shot down."

Something caught Soubi's eye. They were flying so low that he could see three figured run out of the woods. He could almost see their faces…especially the one that stopped to look directly up at the helicopter while they held their ears.

_Ritsuka!_ It was him. Soubi could recognize him even from being high up in the sky. He wanted to call out to him somehow, but he knew that that was a dumb idea. If he gave away that it was them, they would surely be shot down and killed. He just stayed silent, knowing that he'd have his chance soon enough.

* * *

Ritsuka sat in his room on the bed. He was reading a book he'd found in his bookcase. The entire manor had been in complete lockdown since late afternoon. Ritsuka had become bored and had been longing for the company of Nakahira or Chouma.

Sighing, Ritsuka put the book on the bed stand and began looking at the pictures he had. He passed through most of the ones of anyone except for Soubi. A deeper longing set into his heart, one that he had been feeling for twenty five days. He hated himself for treating Soubi so badly. Why did he treat the one person he loved so horribly? He had told Soubi he hated him. He had gotten angry at something that wasn't even Soubi's fault and had screamed at him. Would Soubi even want him if he ever got out of this hell?

Soubi was always so intelligent and mature. He was always the perfect person. He was the sort of person Ritsuka needed in his life. If he had realized it earlier, he might still be with him.

Something came into Ritsuka's mind, a memory. It was something that happened right before Ritsuka's birthday. Soubi had invited Ritsuka over to stay the night on a Friday. Ritsuka fell asleep in Soubi's arms, safe and happy, when he had awoken to Soubi clutching Ritsuka's t-shirt, whimpering slightly. It had shocked Ritsuka to see him like that. After a little while, Ritsuka realized that he was having a nightmare. Ritsuka had sat up and started to run his hands through Soubi's hair, trying to console him in his sleep. Soubi had quieted down, so Ritsuka had assumed that it had worked. Soubi had woken up shortly after, apologizing to Ritsuka. Ritsuka told him that it was alright and the two had gone back to bed.

Ritsuka didn't know what had brought that memory on. It was one that Ritsuka wanted to write down, though. He wondered what Soubi had been dreaming about. Ritsuka really didn't know a whole lot about his past, other than the fact that he had no family and that he went to Seven Voices and was then handed over to Seimei. Ritsuka had brought up the subject of his ears once or twice, but Soubi never wanted to talk about it. It was the same thing with the principal. Ritsuka had always respected Soubi, though, and never wanted to force him to talk about painful things. Now, though, he wondered if the two subjects were related.

When Ritsuka had first met Ritsu, the principal, while he was in-game, Soubi had been with him. He had said something about him being a cold, mean, person. Ritsuka could always tell that Soubi didn't like Ritsu.

Ritsuka looked for a long time at a picture of Ritsuka by a smiling Soubi. Ritsuka loved that smile. He didn't like the forced smiles Soubi sometimes gave him when he was sad. He loved the ones that were natural, the ones Ritsuka caught when he did something little for Soubi, like make him something to eat or help him clean his apartment up. Little things that were stuff Ritsuka did without thinking. Soubi smiled at him like that when they went out, too, like when they had to look at the lights around the city.

Ritsuka had always wanted to capture that smile on camera, but he thought it would destroy something scared only known by the two of them. Even this picture didn't capture it truly.

_I'd give anything to see you again_.

* * *

"We attack in ten days," Ritsu told the roomful of people, walking in at a fast pace. Soubi followed him, still shell-shocked at seeing Ritsuka at Seimei's hideout and hearing of Misaki's death all in one day.

The huge conference room was full of at least three-hundred people. Soubi didn't even know twenty of them.

"You found Seimei's hideout?" Somebody yelled out towards the back. A thousand questions were shot at them all at once, most of which were 'who's going to lead the attack'.

"Hey!" Ritsu yelled, getting everyone to quiet down. "This attack is going to be simply to rescue Aoyagi Ritsuka. That is our primary goal. If we can, we're going to try to steal data, but there will be no capturing, maiming, or murdering of Aoyagi Seimei."

Soubi thought of Kiyoshi, who had wanted Soubi to kill Seimei. Soubi had been informed that Kiyoshi was in the hospital. He hadn't been able to visit him yet, but he planned to right after the meeting.

"The person who'll be leading this attack," Ritsu paused, taking a breath. "Is the only person I see fit for this: Agatsuma Soubi."

* * *

**ugh. I'm sort of unhappy with this chapter, I guess.**

**I'm glad you all liked the teasers and the bonus chapters :D**

**I won't write much here, but PLEASE give me feedback about this.**

**Review please!**

**~Wolfie  
**


	19. Day 026

**Day 026**

Even after hours and hours of trying, Soubi couldn't possibly fall asleep. He finally gave up around one and lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling. He was back in the dorm alone, since Kiyoshi was staying the night at the hospital. Soubi almost wanted him to talk to, even if he didn't exactly like him. Nagisa had forbade him from visiting Kiyoshi, saying something about him being in hysterics.

Everything was happening so suddenly. Ritsu had chosen him- of all people, _him_- to lead an attack that went against everything Ritsu had taught him. This was directly disobeying Seimei, who he truly belonged to. Soubi hadn't told Ritsu of his disappearing name. Maybe…he already knew, somehow.

Now Soubi had ten days to draw up a plan of attack against Seimei's highly secure manor. He had to lead three hundred people into the attack. It was over-whelming. Why the hell had Ritsu picked him?

Sitting up, Soubi reached for the phone on the bedside table, dialing a familiar number. He needed somebody to talk to, somebody that could give him advice when he needed it the most. His cell phone was short-circuited from Soubi's fall into the lake, but he knew this number from memory and could only hope they would pick up.

"…Hello…?" Kio's groggy voice answered. "Whoever this is, I'm not taking your fricken call at one in the morning."

"Kio, wait!" Soubi panicked. He had no idea what he was going to say. He couldn't explain anything to Kio without explaining that he was a Fighter. Even to do that, he'd need clearance from two members of Septimal Moon.

"Soubi?" Kio seemed to wake up a bit, realizing his panicked friend was on the other line. "I haven't heard from you in over ten days. I heard you got hurt. Oh, and I watched the news coverage like you said. Are you okay? I've been worried."

_Screw the clearance, he needs to know._ "Listen, Kio," Soubi started. "There's a secret that I've been keeping from you since we met. I think… you need to hear it. Do you have a couple of hours?"

Kio waited a moment or two before answering, probably debating on whether or not to go back to bed. God, his life was so simple. He had virtually nothing to worry about. Soubi almost wanted his life to be like that, but then he would've never met Ritsuka. "I guess so," Kio said, slurring the words together a bit.

"You can't tell anybody what I'm about to-!"

"You're involved with the mob, aren't you Sou-chan?" Soubi was cut off by Kio's outburst.

Soubi smiled at him, wondering if that was what Kio had thought all along, "No, no, it's not like that. See there's this underground society of sorts…"

* * *

Ritsuka stayed up late that night, reading and thinking. He found he was happy to be left alone for a little while. This way, he could do whatever he wanted to without somebody interrupting him.

Ritsuka didn't risk touching himself again, though. He knew that Seimei was still probably watching him, to see if he really could trust him. Ritsuka did his best to do things right so that Seimei would trust him completely.

Around two in the morning, Ritsuka finally decided to go to bed, since he was tired. He had shut the lights off and was lying in his bed thinking of how to get Seimei to permanently take the shock collar off. He was sure the thing would electrocute him if he tried to get off the grounds. He had figured that Seimei was keeping him and everyone else here like dogs. He just wondered how much voltage would go through him if he tried to run. Surely Seimei would make sure it wouldn't kill him. Would it just shock Ritsuka once or repeatedly if he crossed the line?

Ritsuka was so lost in thought that he didn't hear his door's lock unlatch. He was too busy comparing the shock collar to a dog's to hear the masked man creep up on him. He was too exhausted to even notice another person slip into the room. He wasn't able to do anything about it until he was suddenly and silently attacked by the two. Even though he didn't notice them come in, Ritsuka realized not long into the fight that they were both grasping for the locket around Ritsuka's neck.

Ritsuka started fighting back, blindly swiping at his opponents in the dark, his mind racing again. Seimei didn't only underestimate Soubi, he underestimated Ritsuka, too. This was a test to see if Ritsuka was truly loyal to him and if he was willing to fight for him. He also wanted to see if Ritsuka could keep his promise. Seimei would stop the fighting once he saw what he wanted to see. If he didn't, who knew what would happen.

Ritsuka was again quicker than the two attackers, able to dodge most of their attacks. He focused on protecting his neck, trying to think about some of the physical attacks he had seen Soubi pull off whenever a team attempted a physical battle. Ritsuka had once seen him knock out a Fighter with a single, well placed blow to the head.

Ritsuka tried to recall some of the things he had seen him do, finding that they didn't work as well with him. At least he got a couple of blows in. One of them grabbed Ritsuka by the shock collar, pulling it hard. Ritsuka fell from the momentum, scrambling to protect the stupid locket. The other person dressed in all black grabbed Ritsuka's wrist and the first person yanked on his hair.

"Stop."

Both people let go of Ritsuka at the commanding voice that belonged to Seimei. Ritsuka fell back on the floor, looking up at his brother as the man strode into the room. He spoke again, holding a hand up, "Dismissed." The two left without a word and without a sound, the two left.

Gasping, Ritsuka rose, keeping Seimei's gaze. He couldn't tell what he was thinking. Had Ritsuka passed? Had he not?

"Good job, Ritsuka," Seimei finally said, sounding satisfied. "You kept your promise."

* * *

Soubi told the entire story to Kio and finished explaining about four hours later. Kio was actually quiet during most of the explanation, only jumping in to ask the occasional question. Oddly enough, he seemed to understand it all.

"You know this explains everything," Kio stated after Soubi was done. "Were you supposed to tell me all that?"

Soubi was leaning on the footboard of his bed, watching dawn begin to break over the horizon. The bright orange light was breaking through the darkness, making the sky look like a half-painted canvas. "No, I wasn't," Soubi pushed the curtains further out of his way. "Hey…would you come out here?"

"I will if you want me to."

Soubi didn't say anything for a long time. When he did speak, he was unsure of himself, "They want me to lead the attack. I'm not sure if I can do it. I don't even know why he chose me."

There was no hesitation in Kio's voice, "He chose you because you know Seimei and how he operates. You're the right one to lead the attack because you know what you're fighting for. You won't stop unless you rescue Ritsuka. _That's _why he chose you."

Hours and hours later Soubi headed back into the conference room, alone this time. He felt more confident and determined, after he had talked to Kio. Ritsu had been furious when Soubi told him he debriefed Kio and that he was headed out, but he didn't do anything about it. Kiyoshi was still in the hospital, as far as he knew, and Ritsu was doing some publicity stuff.

The room had even more people in it than it did last time. Soubi's determination hadn't died down. If anything, it was fueled.

"Quiet!" Soubi yelled, slamming his hands on the table he was obviously supposed to speak at. Most of the crowd shut up, turning their gazes to him. The noise died down to just a murmur. Once Soubi felt satisfied with the noise level, he spoke again, trying to gain authority over these people, "We're here today to discuss the raid and inevitable attack that will happen nine days from now. Some of you will be hurt, maybe even killed. If you're unhappy with that, I suggest you leave now," Soubi pointed at the door, amazed at his own boldness. A couple people got up to leave, the rest of the murmur completely dying down.

"Good," Soubi told them, a little anxiety settling in, but not enough to affect him. "Aoyagi Seimei is a powerful man. There's no way to tell if he's expecting an attack from us or not. He certainly won't be expecting me to be leading it. We may have the element of surprise and we may not, but either way we have to be prepared for the worst. We're going to have to fight fire with fire, and hope that ours doesn't burn out faster."

His own words began to give Soubi an idea, one that he hadn't thought of before. A plan started to form in his head, and he told the group of it as he worked it out. He eventually got over his anxiety of speaking in front of such a large crowd. It was still odd for him, but he was confident. This was going to end Soubi's search for Ritsuka. He was going to rescue the child, whether Seimei liked it or not.

* * *

Ritsuka didn't remember anything after Seimei said 'good job', since he was hit over the head with an iron rod right after he did so. When Ritsuka came to, he felt like it had only been seconds, but knew better since his arm and head were hurting. He opened his eyes and pulled at his hands, finding that he was chained to Seimei's bed. Ritsuka squirmed, fighting against the restraints.

He was naked and fully exposed on top of the bed. When he finally stopped seeing double, he spotted Seimei standing across from him against the wall, looking at him like a hungry animal. Ritsuka could see that he was already hard. Fear sparked in him, making him want to break free of the restraints that held him to the bed.

"Seimei…" Ritsuka was almost shocked to find that he hadn't been gagged. Ritsuka swallowed, desperate to keep his façade on. "You didn't have to tie me up. I would've let you screw me anyways." _Please don't do this._

Seimei came forward slowly, fingering the fabric of the blankets on the bed. His eyes never left Ritsuka, though. "Such dirty words," Seimei's voice was low and rough with arousal. "I'm sorry, Ritsuka. I just find it sexy. Don't you like being tied up?"

_Not by you_. "Yes."

Seimei got on the bed, kneeling beside Ritsuka's helpless form. He looked for a while longer before placing a hand on Ritsuka's chest and fingering his nipples. Ritsuka bit back a moan, once again ashamed of getting aroused. He felt like he was betraying Soubi somehow by getting turned on.

Seimei smirked, "Moan for me, brother."

Ritsuka obeyed, letting out the moan he'd been keeping in and then feeling humiliated. Seimei continued on, flicking his hands over both Ritsuka's nipples, bringing them to hardness. Ritsuka panted, just wanting it all to end. Seimei was probably going to rape Ritsuka again.

Something felt different, though. Ritsuka realized he didn't have the shock collar on any longer and that it was nowhere to be found. There was a spot, though, just below his shoulder which looked like it had an implant in it.

When Seimei started to fondle Ritsuka's half-hard cock, Ritsuka let out an involuntary moan. Seimei grinned again slightly, pumping his brother roughly and rubbing hard. Ritsuka's entire body was bright red and clear pre-cum dripped out of his member and onto Seimei's fingers. _I don't want this_, Ritsuka thought over and over again. _I want him to stop. Why am I so aroused?_

"Sei-Seimei…" Ritsuka gasped out, coming into Seimei's hand. He watched Seimei lick the white liquid off his hand and Ritsuka shut his eyes, hearing the sound of Seimei's pants coming off. He kept them shut as Seimei positioned himself on top of Ritsuka and then with no preparation, no lubricant, no warning, no _anything_, he pushed himself quickly inside of the teen.

Ritsuka's eyes shot open and he screamed out, not caring _who_ heard him or _what _Seimei thought of him. He felt like he was being torn in two and his ass felt as if it was on fire. Seimei went at it, almost pulling out all the way and then slamming back inside. Ritsuka cried out again and again for him to stop, but that only seemed to motivate Seimei more. After what seemed like forever, Seimei finally finish, coming inside of Ritsuka. He collapsed on top of the small teen, gasping. He pulled out and unlocked Ritsuka from the chains that held him to the bed.

Seimei tried to cuddle with Ritsuka in the bed, but Ritsuka just turned away from him, slowly crying himself to sleep.

* * *

It was later that night when Soubi heard the knock at the dorm room's door. He had been drawing up the battle plan they'd discussed in an attempt to keep himself from smoking while he waited.

"It's unlocked," He called, unwilling to leave his diagram.

"He's alive!" Soubi's eyes went wide as he recognized the voice right before the two little demons burst in, followed by Kio.

Kio just shrugged, "They wanted to come."

Natsou and Youji got on the bed with Soubi, demanding to see his battle plan and making their usual threats. Soubi attempted to shove them off of him, and eventually succeed in pushing them both onto the floor, where they both landed with a loud _thump_.

Soubi glanced up at Kio, who was looking at him, shocked that he had been so violent with the two. "They don't feel any pain," Soubi informed him, glad to see the relieved look on Kio's face, despite Natsou and Youji's wails of 'he hurt us'.

"You mind telling how you got hurt?" Kio prodded, once he had found something to keep Natsou and Youji occupied.

Soubi quickly found the page that he had drawn Shapeless's true form and showed it to him, "I fought this thing. It made a deal with me. Then it transformed into somebody I hate and I went insane and tried to murder it. Then it transformed into Ritsuka and I completely lost it and I killed it. It turns out that I only murdered the Fighter side of it, and that it's actually a little, powerless, eight year-old girl," Soubi explained quickly.

They talked for a long time, about school, the press conference, Natsou and Youji's pranks, and anything else that had happened. Something was missing though, that something being Ritsuka. They were almost like a little family, the only family and friends Soubi had ever had. It only gave him more of a reason to fight for Ritsuka, though.

* * *

**This chapter is better than the last. **

**I really think it is. It's sort of just a filler chapter. Don't worry the next chapter will be will the real action starts. I'll give you a hint why: it skips nine days. **

**I want to talk about Hiro here. I made her up for THIS fic. She's almost completely based off of Envy from FMA, but I tried to make her her own character. She's not a main character in this fic, and I don't plan to make her one. I sort of count Hiro and Shapeless as two different people. Shapeless had no gender or real age. To put it bluntly, it was a monster. Once it was killed, though, it becomes Hiro, a small eight year-old, confused girl with muddled memories. She takes a liking to Soubi for reasons I haven't quite figured out yet. What do you guys think of her? I'm really curious to know.**

**we're getting closer to the big reunion! Yes, it WILL happen and I hope that it's everything all of you hoped that it will be. It'll happen within the next three chapters, though I'm not telling which ;D**

**Review if you want the next chapter!**

**~Wolfie  
**


	20. Day 035

**Day 035**

"Soubi, there's something I need to ask of you," When Soubi got to Kiyoshi's hospital room, the man was dressed and packed up. It was a couple hours before they would launch the attack and Soubi had wanted to visit Kiyoshi before leaving.

"What is it?" Soubi had planned to talk with him like he usually did, but it seemed that Kiyoshi was getting released from the hospital.

Soubi was extremely nervous and anxious about the later attack. He had left another meeting just minutes before. He'd gone over the attack plans again, making sure everyone knew where they were supposed to be, since they couldn't risk a screw up.

He was going to get Ritsuka back today. He was going to be able to look at the beautiful boy's face again. He could hear his voice again. He would be able to hold that small, frail body in his arms again.

Kiyoshi looked right into his eyes, "I want to come with you."

* * *

Ritsuka had followed his routine, with the exception of the first day after being roughly fucked by Seimei. On that he had cried almost the entire morning. Seimei had tried to 'console' him, but Ritsuka didn't want him to. Eventually, Seimei had just left him alone. Nakahira showed up sometime in the afternoon to take him back to Ritsuka's room. He bathed Ritsuka, cleaned up the blood, and left him alone. Ritsuka had found himself unable to walk on that day, so he'd just stayed in his room.

After that, though, he returned to his regular routine. He spent a lot of his daytime in the library, trying to research some way to get out. Nakahira sometimes came with him, as he was when the sirens began blaring again.

It was late evening and Ritsuka was curled up under a blanket in an aisle, reading a fictional book that had caught his eye. Nakahira was beside him, reading some book on science that was too advanced for Ritsuka. Ritsuka had offered to share the blanket with him, but he had gently refused.

The sirens began blaring, louder than the first time. Ritsuka made a sound of surprise, covering his ears with his hands, trying to block out the noise. Nakahira pulled him into his side, putting his hands over Ritsuka's. It helped block out more noise, but the red lights still flashed. Another set of sirens joined the lockdown set and Ritsuka distantly heard Nakahira curse.

"That's the attack and fire sirens. We need to get the hell out of here."

* * *

The fire had been apart of the plan since the first day. Seimei's trademark of killing was setting them on fire, or burning their house down, as he had done with Misaki. Setting the manor on fire would not only shock everyone and send them into a panic, it would also send Seimei a message.

The plan started with an aerial and a ground attack. The first line was sent on the ground to distract from the aerial activity. Their instructions were specifically to distract and fight, not to kill or injure badly. As expected, it had worked, although the first aerial attack was almost immediately shot down, but not before the fire-inducing chemicals were poured down.

Soubi watched the manor go up in flames from afar. He knew what he was risking. The inside as well as the outside would catch on fire, putting Ritsuka in danger. Seimei could die in this attack, too, but Soubi highly doubted that. He just needed to get to Ritsuka before Seimei would flee with him.

* * *

The second attack was sent in to fight and to stop at no order other than Soubi's or Septimal Moon's. It was a bloodbath. The people fleeing from the manor were not attacked, unless they were trying to fight. Seimei had apparently sent in his own teams to fight. He had smaller numbers, but it wasn't by much. This was also for a distraction while Soubi and a few others went inside to try to find Ritsuka.

"What's going on…?" Ritsuka tried asking when Nakahira pulled him up by the wrist and yanked him towards the door. Smoke filled his senses as soon as the doors opened, obviously coming from the nearby fire.

"We're being attacked," Nakahira whispered, shoving Ritsuka down to the floor to get him below the smoke.

Ritsuka coughed, feeling the ability to breathe come back. The smoke was heavy and black, seeping into his eyes and making them burn. He shut them tightly, allowing himself to be pulled along. They were in one of the main hallways that led directly to the entry hall. The sirens still blared, almost deafeningly loud. He could still hear Nakahira's muttered cursing and reached out for him just as he felt himself being lifted up by him.

Ritsuka buried his face in his caretaker's shirt, wondering how he knew where he was going. He could tell Nakahira was carrying something besides him and assumed it was the bag full of the papers he brought everywhere.

_Attack?_ Ritsuka thought, his mind wandering as he tried to block out the smoke and the sirens. _By who?_ Then it hit him. The only person who would attack Seimei would be Septimal Moon. Could it be? Was Soubi in on the attack? Was he finally going to be saved by him?

Ritsuka lifted his head, realizing they were going into the elevator, where the air was clearer.

"Where are you taking me?" Ritsuka demanded as soon as the doors closed and Nakahira had set him down on his feet.

"To Seimei," He answered without looking at Ritsuka.

_I can't go to him! _Ritsuka yanked at Nakahira's sleeve, getting him to look at him. "No!" He panicked. "You can't! I'm not stupid! I know who's attacking, I know he's looking for me, and I know he's here!"

"Ritsuka, I can't-!"

Ritsuka took a shaky breath, trying to think of the words to get his point across to him. "This could be your only chance," Ritsuka told him steadily and looking straight into his eyes. "He'll come and save me. He'll figure out where I am. He'll save you, too."

Nakahira stared at him with wide-eyes, holding loosely onto Ritsuka's wrist. Ritsuka knew he was facing him with probably the most difficult decision he'd ever made. There was a huge risk in this. Seimei could easily find out or Soubi could never find them. But freedom was on the other side, so close Ritsuka could feel in within his fingertips.

Nakahira only said one word, though, and it was not the one Ritsuka expected to hear, "Chouma."

* * *

Soubi hung from a windowsill, trying to get up to the top floor. He had tried going in through the entrance, but someone else trying to do so had gotten killed right in front of him. He figured that he if he could get through the window on the top floor, he'd have access to the entire manor.

"Pull yourself up," Kiyoshi's voice came through the tiny speaker in his ear. The man was watching him from someplace high up with high power binoculars. Soubi didn't quite know where from, but he assumed he was up in a tree. "It looks like you'll be able the get a foot hold on the window sill. The next floor up there's a balcony, and then the floor after that is the top."

"Alright," Soubi hauled himself upwards, getting a stable foot hold on the window sill and pressing his hands against the window. Nobody had noticed him yet, but the cries of battle were getting louder and louder. He glanced up, seeing the next two stories he had to climb.

It was suspiciously easy. Too easy. There had to be some sort of thing ready to kill him up there. A hidden gunman, maybe? It seemed like Seimei to hire somebody for that, but he was almost sure they'd fled at the fire alarm. The fire also limited Soubi's time, even though they had started it on the other side of the building. It was growing quickly, according to Kiyoshi.

After taking a very short break to catch his breath, Soubi continued on, well aware of the danger he was facing and what he'd be up against.

* * *

The smoke was beginning to get into Ritsuka's room. He coughed violent into Soubi's coat, which he held against his chest. He had wrapped the pictures in it and a few other things, not wanting to lose them. Nakahira and Chouma sat beside each other, whispering in low voices to each other. Ritsuka didn't know what they were discussing, but he knew it wasn't for his ears.

Was Seimei looking for him? Ritsuka assumed so. He was probably trying to find him so he could take him somewhere 'safe' with him. Or maybe he was already in the safe house, wondering where Nakahira could be, since he was supposed to drop off Ritsuka. It was either that, or Seimei was waiting for the perfect time to execute Soubi himself.

Ritsuka started hacking again, trying his hardest not to make too much noise. The smoke was really getting to him, even though he was on the floor. It was getting hard to see, too, since the only thing in the room was smoke and it surrounded everything.

As the minutes past, Ritsuka began to lose hope as the smoke became thicker. Something terrible must have happened to Soubi, or perhaps he had just given up. Ritsuka didn't blame him. Why would he want to save someone who had been so terrible to him?

Ritsuka hated himself for the way he had treated Soubi. He pushed away all his attempts to become closer to him. What was the harm in letting Soubi kiss him, anyways? Ritsuka would sometimes push him away for even a goodnight kiss. Soubi had never tried to take it further than just harmless making out or him lightly kissing Ritsuka's neck once in awhile. There was no harm in pushing him away for a simple kiss, so why had Ritsuka done it?

Looking back on it, Ritsuka was positive that he'd hurt Soubi by saying all the things he did and refusing to become closer. He could remember the hurt expression on his face when he told him that he hated him. It hadn't been true, of course, but Ritsuka had said it and it had hurt Soubi. He had never _wanted_ to hurt him, but he had.

He could understand if Soubi never wanted to see him again. He was almost expecting it, which is why it came as such a shock when he heard the glass of the window in the room shatter.

Ritsuka lifted his head and gasped, taking in enough of the smoked air to actually make himself feel dizzy. He couldn't see anything except for the dark shadow of the person who had broke the window. _…Soubi?_

He coughed again, trying to say something to them, but finding he couldn't. The shadow darted towards him and he felt hands on his face. Soft hands with long fingers on his cheeks. They definitely weren't Seimei's.

Ritsuka put his hand over the other person's, getting a small whisper in, "Soubi…" He could see his unmistakenable blue eyes, through. Those bright blue eyes, the ones with the color that no matter how hard he tried, Ritsuka could never find it in a crayon box. Ritsuka loved the color of his eyes, the way they grew brighter when Soubi was happy and duller when he wasn't. His hand was still on Ritsuka's face, giving off warmth.

"Ritsuka," That was Soubi's voice, so low and soft. So comforting. It had been thirty-five days since Ritsuka had clearly heard that voice. The instance over the phone didn't count, since Ritsuka hadn't heard his voice very clearly.

He was here. He had come to Ritsuka's rescue. Despite all the terrible things Ritsuka had said to him, he was here now. Ritsuka stared into those beautiful blue eyes, not believing that Soubi was truly here to save him from this hell. Finally. He'd be able to see the man he loved again, even if Soubi didn't love him back anymore. That didn't matter. Tears were falling down his face, tears of happiness and sadness over everything that Ritsuka had done.

Ritsuka was suddenly aware of his dizziness again and pulled away, starting to cough violently again. The black smoke was swirling around him, thick and excruciatingly sooty. Ritsuka felt as if he was inhaling the fire. He went into another coughing fit, soon after the first.

"Ritsuka?" Ritsuka couldn't stop coughing. "…Ritsuka?" His eyes stung and his lungs gasped for clean air. "Ritsuka!" Ritsuka fell forward, only to be caught by Soubi. His arms were around him, holding the gasping, crying boy close to him. Ritsuka grabbed at his collar, weakly pulling him down.

All Ritsuka could see was Soubi's blue eyes, as he rasped his next words out, "Save _them_, too." Soubi's blue eyes were also the last thing he saw before the black, swirling smoke closed in on him.

* * *

**AND IT HAPPENS.**

**For reals.**

**I hope I haven't disappointed :D**

**And thus, we end the first part 'Seimei' and move into the next part cleverly named 'Soubi'. I have something huge planned, just so you all know, but we won't get to those plans for a little while. I have decided to split this story in two, but that won't happen until later either. **

**Seriously, I really hope I haven't disappointed you. Thanks for all the reviews! I was really excited to put this chapter up when I got home from school today! Enjoy!**

**Review if you want the next, long, fluffy chapter!**

**~Wolfie  
**


	21. Day 036

**Day 036**

Soubi stared at Ritsuka, trying to take in the child's beauty. Ritsuka. Ritsuka was asleep, holding onto Soubi's arm tightly with one hand and grasping his hand with the other. Soubi moved his hand a little, trying to move it away from Ritsuka's IV.

Soubi's clothes were torn up, burned, and bloody from fighting. He hadn't moved from the time he started sitting with Ritsuka. It was early morning and he and the others were getting away from Seimei.

This had all been a part of the plan. Soubi had listen to Ritsuka's words 'save _them_, too' before the boy passed out in his arms. Soubi had looked and found two others in the room with him. Even though reluctant, he told them to come with him. He had gotten out just as the fire reached that wing of the manor. The fighting was still going on. Soubi knew he had needed to help. He had found Kiyoshi and handed Ritsuka off to him, along with the other two. Seimei had gone absent without leave. Soubi had taken a short time to clear up the rest of the fighting. He ordered everyone into stage three of the plan: escape.

From there, Soubi had gone off to meet up with Kiyoshi. This part of their plan was a bit odd, but it was nearly foolproof. Nagisa and Seven met them in a shoddy, beat-up looking camper. It was supplied with an efficient medical room in the back where Nagisa gave a passed out Ritsuka the same treatment she gave Soubi when Shapeless attacked him.

At this point, Soubi had noticed something in Ritsuka's arm. Nagisa immediately recognized it as a tracker that Seimei had put in it. She sedated Ritsuka and told Soubi that there was no time for a full medical procedure. She had made a small incision and Soubi was forced to tear the tracker out the rest of the way. Seven had placed the tracker onto a decoy's car and told them to drive around for awhile and then pitch it to the bottom of the lake. Nagisa had stitched Ritsuka's arm, but left him sedated and on a high dosage pain medication.

The camper supplied them all with a living area as they tried to get away from Seimei as fast as they could. The strange thing was that the two that had been with Ritsuka started having convulsions as soon as they got a few miles away. Nagisa had sedated them and asked Soubi about the collars they both wore around their neck. She described the collar to him and she said it was a black metal collar with a fingerprint scanner on the back. Soubi had suggested a shock collar, which turned out to be right since the collar shocked Nagisa as soon as she touched it.

Kiyoshi had used pliers to pry them off, after both Natsou and Youji tried. It took him hours to get them off. Soubi didn't help, though he probably would've gotten it off sooner. He had been too intrigued by his little Ritsuka holding onto him tightly in his sleep.

Seven was the one driving. Nagisa checked with Ritsuka and Soubi in the medical back room and everyone else- Kiyoshi, Kio, Natsou, Youji, and the just waking up other two- were in the middle, largest area. Kio was well aware that it was his sister out there with him, but nobody knew who the other one was. It was a man who looked around Soubi's age who still retained his ears.

"Hey," The door opened and Kiyoshi stepped in, looking around at the medical room. It was a good sized room with almost no color except for white. Ritsuka was on a large double bed that was bolted to the floor. He had an IV through his hand and the same sort of breathing tube that went just inside his nose. He had stitches in his arm from where Soubi was forced to rip out the tracker.

There were shelves full of medical supplies, all built to withstand bumpy roads. Soubi had pulled a chair up, close to the bed when Ritsuka had refused to let go of his shirt.

"How's he doing?" Kiyoshi walked over to Ritsuka, stroking one of the ears on his head, pulling back with a surprised gasp when the kitten ear twitched.

"They're fake. I already checked," Soubi told him. Kiyoshi glanced at him and then back to Ritsuka, pulling lightly on the ear, finding it was attached to a thin, fabric headband.

A little smile came across Kiyoshi's face as he looked down at his son. "He won't let go of you, will he?" Kiyoshi observed, looking at Ritsuka holding onto Soubi's arm tightly.

Soubi smiled a little himself, feeling that he could now that he had Ritsuka back, "I can't even feel my arm anymore."

Kiyoshi was quiet for a long time. When he said what he did, he sounded even sadder than when Misaki was murdered, "I just hope he can forgive me…"

"He will," Soubi assured him, being completely truthful. "Ritsuka isn't the kind of kid…who holds grudges. He's extremely forgiving. He'll understand if you explain it to him."

"…Yeah," Kiyoshi looked at him son for a few moments before leaving Soubi alone with him.

Ritsuka sighed, holding even tighter to Soubi. Nagisa came in after about an hour, checking Ritsuka's stats.

"Have you even gotten any sleep since last night?" Soubi shook his head as an answer to her question. She glared at him but stepped behind his chair, over to Ritsuka's IV. She injected something into it saying, "I'm going to wake him up."

* * *

The first thing Ritsuka heard when he woke up was quiet, soft breathing. Ritsuka was holding onto something warm with one arm and holding onto something with his other hand. Ritsuka held it tighter since it was warm and soft.

"Ritsuka?" Ritsuka opened his eyes, recognizing Soubi's voice and instantly feeling confused. He focused on the older man's face, tears filling his eyes again.

Never had Ritsuka seen somebody look as angelic as Soubi did in that moment. He was sitting at the teen's bedside, leaning forward a bit. His blue eyes were bright and clear, meaning he was happy. His blonde hair looked almost white against the bright florescent white light behind him. The light created a halo around his head, something Ritsuka noticed right away. He was dressed in a simple white shirt that had some dirt and what looked to be blood on it and a grey jacket. He smiled down at Ritsuka, giving him one of those secret, sacred smiles that Ritsuka loved. He was…perfect.

"Am I having another one of those dreams?" Ritsuka asked, letting go of Soubi's arm. He raised his hand, resting it against Soubi's face. This couldn't be real. It felt like it, though.

Soubi laughed quietly, shaking his head, "No, Ritsuka."

Ritsuka moved his hand from Soubi's face to brush through his long hair, feeling the feathery blonde strands move between his fingers. So real… It was all almost too good to be true. He looked so angelic…maybe Ritsuka was dead.

"Am I dead?" He asked softly, his real question being _Are you dead?_

Soubi only kept on smiling, that happy look in his eyes only growing as he shook his head again, "No. You're not dead, and neither am I. Don't you remember the attack, Ritsuka?"

Ritsuka's mind suddenly flashed to the fire alarm, all the smoke, convincing Nakahira to come with him, Soubi breaking the window, and then Ritsuka fainting in his arms. He gasped, the tears falling again. He kneeled, throwing his arms around Soubi, pressing his face into the man's neck, just wanting to feel him close. Soubi pulled him into his lap, holding him as close against him as possible. Soubi held him tightly, his arms nearly crushing the child. Ritsuka inhaled his scent, unable to get enough of it.

He was here. Against all odds, he was here. He had rescued Ritsuka from Seimei. Ritsuka had him back now. That was all that mattered now. He would worry about everything else later, but for now all he wanted to do was hold onto Soubi like this.

Ritsuka pulled away a little when he felt a sudden, small wetness at his neck. He pulled away just enough so that he could look at his face "Soubi," Ritsuka hugged him close again. "Are you crying?"

Soubi took a shaky breath, his answer coming out a bit choked, "Yes. I guess I am. I'm sorry. I didn't mean for you to see me like this."

Ritsuka smiled, still crying, "It's fine." There were so many things he wanted to say, but he couldn't find the words to say them. _I love you_. "Soubi, I-I-!"

Soubi pulled away, still holding Ritsuka, though, speaking before he could finish. "You should lie back down. Nagisa said you're going to be tired for the next day or so. I don't want you to," Soubi took one of Ritsuka's hands in his own, showing him the IV in it. "Pull this out. Nagisa warned against any physical activity." He lifted Ritsuka off his lap and set him back down on the bed, covering him up.

Ritsuka grabbed his hand, needing to feel Soubi with him after so many days of being apart. "Lay with me," Ritsuka whispered, pulling gently on his hand. "Please, Soubi." _I love you. I love you so much I don't even know how to tell you. _He wanted Soubi to understand, but he didn't know how to say it. He was too tired to try to find the words, now. All he knew was that he wanted to be held close and never let go.

Soubi didn't answer right away and Ritsuka started to worry. "Okay," Soubi finally agreed, laying down beside and facing Ritsuka. Ritsuka moved close, curling into his chest. For the first time in more than a month, Ritsuka felt safe and out of the reaches of Seimei.

"Ritsuka…"

"Don't leave me," Ritsuka pleaded, not looking up at him. "Stay here with me, please."

Soubi put his arms around Ritsuka's small body, keeping him to him. He stroked the back of Ritsuka's head. "I'm not going to leave you," Soubi told him gently. "I never will. Never again."

* * *

Soubi had drifted off to sleep as well after a few minutes of lying with Ritsuka. He was ecstatic that Ritsuka wanted him to lay in the bed with him, but he hesitated since he thought it might've been just an initial reaction to him seeing Soubi. He was still wondering whether Ritsuka hated him or not.

He awoke when Ritsuka started whimpering and squirming a little in Soubi's arms. Soubi was always a light sleeper, waking up whenever Ritsuka would whimper or cry out in his sleep. That hadn't changed.

Soubi was holding Ritsuka loosely to his chest, his hands on the boy's back. It felt amazing to hold Ritsuka like this again. For thirty-seven days he had missed this feeling of having the one he loved in his arms. Even if Ritsuka did hate him, he could still savor this moment.

Ritsuka was all Soubi was thinking about. He was his primary concern. He wasn't thinking about how close on their trail Seimei could be, who that guy with Ritsuka was, or even what was going to happen after this. Ritsuka was his everything right now.

There was a sudden pause in Ritsuka's slight movements, which caught Soubi's attention. He glanced down at the child curled into his chest, watching him blink those huge, violet eyes open.

"You're still here," Ritsuka whispered. Soubi noticed tears in his eyes again. "Why haven't you left?"

This had to be proof that Ritsuka hated him. Ritsuka couldn't make it any clearer without bluntly saying it. Crestfallen, Soubi sat up, rubbing his eyes. "I'll go then," He told Ritsuka without looking at him. He didn't want him to see how depressed this made him. If Ritsuka were to see him, he would see how impossibly weak and hopeless Soubi really was.

"No!" Ritsuka grabbed at the back of Soubi's jacket, pulling and keeping him from getting up. Soubi looked at him, trying to get him to let go. When he finally did, Ritsuka grasped onto his hands, only confusing Soubi further. If Ritsuka hated him, why was he keeping him from leaving? "I mean… I figured that you hated me. After everything that I've said to you, everything I've done, you have every right to hate me. You have every right to leave right now. I wouldn't hold it against you if you slapped me right now for everything that I've done to you."

_He thinks __**I **__hate him? _It did hurt when Ritsuka pushed him away or said hateful things to him, but Ritsuka always apologized or made up for it. Soubi always forgave him, anyways. Anything that Ritsuka said could never hurt Soubi enough to make him hate him.

"Ritsuka," Soubi took Ritsuka's face in both hands, forcing him to look into his eyes. Had Seimei somehow tricked him into thinking Soubi hated him? "Listen to me. There is nothing you can do or say to make me love you any less." He pulled Ritsuka into a tight hug, being careful of his IV. Before this, he was trying to be careful of physical contact since Ritsuka was both emotionally and physically fragile.

"Soubi," Ritsuka whispered again, holding onto him. They held onto each other for a very long time. It was so long that Soubi felt Ritsuka begin to fall asleep.

Soubi put Ritsuka back on the bed on his back, smiling down at him. God, he was beautiful. He almost didn't believe that he had rescued Ritsuka and escaped with him almost flawlessly. It felt a little bit too perfect, but he would worry about that later. Ritsuka was with him now. That was all that mattered.

Ritsuka opened his eyes a little while Soubi was still leaning over him, surprising the older man. He reached up, fingering the collar of Soubi's jacket. "Kiss me," He murmured so quietly Soubi could barely hear him.

"…What?" Soubi wasn't sure if he had heard him correctly. Kiss him? Soubi had been avoiding physical contact also because he wasn't sure if Ritsuka was ready to handle it. He had been raped. That took a huge affect on a person. Maybe Ritsuka was afraid of physical contact, as Soubi had been when Ritsu took his ears.

Ritsuka smiled slightly, "Kiss me."

Soubi leaned down further, pressing his lips gently against Ritsuka's. He felt the physical gap between them close and he enjoyed the feeling of young Ritsuka's soft, full lips. He pulled away after a minute or so and laid back down beside Ritsuka. The boy snuggled back into Soubi's hold, pressing himself into his chest. It was like this that they both fell back asleep.

* * *

The third time Ritsuka woke up, he felt himself holding onto Soubi's arm again. His mind was still foggy from the drugs. He reminded himself that he wasn't in Seimei's prison anymore, and that he was back with Soubi now. He moved himself closer to Soubi's warm body, feeling his hand stroke Ritsuka's head lightly. It gave Ritsuka comfort from the dream he'd just had.

It had been a horrible dream about Seimei. Ritsuka didn't remember it fully, but it scared him still. It really helped that he had Soubi here to comfort him.

It turned out that Soubi didn't hate him and in fact, had forgiven him. He still loved Ritsuka. Ritsuka loved him, even if he got tongue-tied whenever he tried to tell him. He had attempted to at least three times and wasn't able to get anything except 'I' out the first time, and nothing the other times. He wanted to say it, but it was almost as if a simple 'I love you' didn't quite cut it. He did love Soubi, but it was much more than that. They had a bond stronger than that of two lovers. Ritsuka wasn't even sure if words could describe his feelings for Soubi.

"Is something wrong, Ritsuka?" Ritsuka heard Soubi ask.

Ritsuka opened his eyes, glancing up at Soubi, finding that he was laying on his back, reading. Ritsuka smiled and moved onto Soubi's chest, almost shocked to hear his heartbeat. That meant that this was real and not some dream. They weren't dead, either. The attack had been successful. Soubi had rescued him. For what? How many people had died? How many had gotten hurt? How close was Seimei to finding him again? How many people were _going_ to die?

"I just had a bad dream," Ritsuka shook away all the other troubling thoughts.

"What about?" Ritsuka recalled hearing those words from Seimei, too, but it was different coming from Soubi. Unlike Seimei, Soubi actually cared. He could see it in his eyes and hear it in his voice.

"Just…Seimei," Ritsuka shook his head, trying to pass it off as nothing. Soubi didn't look convinced, though. "I'm fine," He assured him. He wasn't lying. He'd be fine if he had Soubi with him.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Ritsuka shook his head again. He was still exhausted. He was wondering where they were and how they got there, but he was too tired to ask. He looked at the book that Soubi put down, trying to read the title. "Will you read to me?" Ritsuka requested, feeling embarrassed. He loved Soubi's voice, though.

Ritsuka was afraid Soubi would laugh at him for asking such a strange thing, but he just smiled in a way that made a blush return to Ritsuka's face for the first time in over a month. "Of course," Soubi agreed, starting to read out loud from his book.

Ritsuka didn't recognize it, but he wasn't even paying attention to the story. All that was real was Soubi's voice, the only light in all the darkness that surrounded them. Ritsuka closed his eyes, listening to his voice as it lulled him to back to sleep.

* * *

Ritsuka's request had been a strange one, but Soubi was happy to oblige. Even after Ritsuka fell asleep, Soubi kept on reading out loud. He continued until Kio came into the room and looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"What are you doing?" He asked, glancing at Ritsuka who slept curled up next to Soubi. "You realize he's asleep, right? There's no need to stay in bed with him or to keep on reading to him."

Soubi put the book down. "If I move or stop reading, I think he'll wake up…" That was only partially true. He did think that Ritsuka would wake up if he stopped reading. As for lying in the bed with him, Soubi didn't want to move, but needed an excuse to do so.

Kio gave him the look that made it clear he knew he was lying. Soubi had explained the entire connection that he had with Ritsuka when he had let everything out on the phone, but he doubted that Kio really understood. He never would be able to. The connection that Soubi shared with Ritsuka was too complex for him to fully comprehend.

"Why'd you come in here?" Soubi asked, curious to know where they were. They had secured a place somewhere by the ocean where they knew the media wouldn't find them and Seimei wouldn't be able to reach for a couple days. Soubi wasn't completely sure where it was, but he knew that it was somewhere nice where Ritsuka would be able to calm down and relax for a few days. It was somewhere in country, but Ritsu had said it was the furthest they could get from Seimei by car.

"We're stopped for a quick meal," Kio informed him, his gaze softening. "You haven't eaten since we left. You should come with me."

_I can't leave him_. Soubi had promised never to leave Ritsuka. Even though Soubi still didn't know how Ritsuka felt about him, Soubi knew that Ritsuka needed him now. He was just coming down from Seimei's terrors. Soubi could see that Ritsuka didn't quite grasp that this was real and that he wasn't with Seimei anymore. Ritsuka was in a state of emotional turmoil. It was as if he didn't know what was real and not. It didn't help that he still had pain drugs and a light sedative running through his body that kept him from being awake very long. Soubi needed to be there for him. If Ritsuka awoke and he wasn't there, Soubi didn't know what would happen.

"I can't," Was all he could say.

"I'm not afraid to drag you with me," Kio's good humor always made Soubi smile, even in bad situations like this. "I'll get Nagisa, Seven, and Nakahira to sit in here with him."

"Nakahira?" Soubi repeated. He had heard that name somewhere before, though he wasn't sure where. Maybe he had gone to school with someone named Nakahira. No, that wasn't it. He would remember what he looked like, then.

"The guy that was with Ritsuka," Kio filled him in. That still didn't bring anything to light, even though Soubi felt like he should.

Soubi thought it over before deciding to remember later. "I guess, but they have to stay in here with him," He knew he should eat, but he refused to leave Ritsuka alone. What if something happened? Soubi had regained most of his health. He could fight, but not if he left Ritsuka alone. He wouldn't go far, though. And Ritsuka would be staying with three other people, so he'd be okay, right?

Kio seemed to understand his distress, "He'll be okay, Sou-chan. He's been through a lot, but he's with us now. He'll be safe."

* * *

The next time Ritsuka's mind came to, he jolted awake in a daze. He panicked instantly, finding that Soubi wasn't next to him anymore. His heart rate jumped and his eyes widened as he sat up. He saw Nakahira sitting in a chair across from the bed and Ritsuka's fear only escalated. He knew that it was too good to be true.

He had probably hallucinated the entire thing. The smoke in the room could very well have caused Ritsuka to have strange dreams. The warmth from Soubi when Ritsuka was laying next to him felt so real, though. He could almost feel a warm spot beside him. He suddenly missed Soubi again, the happiness from before disappearing.

"Relax, Ritsuka," A woman said from behind him. Ritsuka looked to see Nagisa sitting by Seven.

"Where's Soubi?" Ritsuka breathed, coming down from his panic attack. It hadn't been a hallucination after all. Everything was real, but it was just so hard to grasp. After thirty-five days he was finally back with and still loved by Soubi.

Nagisa walked over to him, taking his hand and examining the IV, "Kio talked him into eating."

Ritsuka rubbed his eyes, still tired, but less than before, "Where am I?"

"We're driving down south," Seven told him, glancing up from her laptop. "We've secured a place where you can wind down a bit and we can protect you. It also gives us a chance to plan out our next move, too."

Ritsuka drew his knees to his chest, wanting nothing more than Soubi to be with him now. "Why are there three of you here?"

"Soubi seems to think that he can protect you himself, but it takes three of us to do the same thing," Nagisa pouted in an almost childish way. Ritsuka smiled at her way of wording. Soubi had always been over-protective of him. Ritsuka had never minded, since he secretly liked his loyalty. None of that had changed.

"He's just over-protective," Ritsuka still smiled, only a little lonely. "So we're in some sort of moving…room?"

"Yes," Seven agreed. "It's an old beat-up camper designed to draw attention away from the exterior. You're in the medical room."

Nagisa sat back down where she was before, "We don't know if Seimei-!"

"I think Ritsuka's had enough for today," Soubi cut Nagisa off, coming into the room. She glared at him, but she and the others left in a hurry.

Ritsuka had his eyes closed tightly, the mention of Seimei bringing up painful memories of rape, beatings, late night sessions with Seimei, among other things. His mind had blocked out all the bad memories up until now. He knew they were there; he just hadn't taken any notice of them. It just confused him more and made his mind even foggier.

Ritsuka felt as if he was falling back into that dark hole of misery, unable to escape his own fears and memories. For a moment, he forgot completely that Soubi was there and simply trapped himself within his own mind. He was fighting to resurface, to break the wall that was keeping him from being so depressed, when he felt strong arms wrap around him.

"Soubi…" He whispered, opening his eyes and relaxing into his Fighter's hold. Soubi held him close, seemingly blocking out all the bad thoughts. "He did things to me," Ritsuka continued in that pained whisper. "He raped me and touched me-"

"Shh, Ritsuka," Soubi silenced him. "I know. You're still coming down from the attack and all the medication. Let's talk when you feel better, okay?"

Ritsuka almost protested, but he decided not to and nodded silently. He would admit that he wasn't exactly in his usual sort of mind. He wanted to talk to Soubi about Seimei, but he didn't want to tell anyone else.

"Who else is here?" Ritsuka asked instead. He needed to know about his environment. It was a safe topic and Ritsuka felt well enough to comprehend this little bit of information.

Soubi looked glad to be talking about a lighter topic, "Kio's sister, that guy you were with, Nagisa, Seven, Kio, those two little demons-"

Ritsuka smiled at the way he referred to the Zero boys, "Natsou and Youji."

Soubi hesitated before continuing on, "…and your father."

Kiyoshi was another topic Ritsuka didn't want to think about. He was having mixed feelings about his father. He wasn't sure if he hated him or loved him. He had gone looking for Ritsuka, something Ritsuka had never thought that he would do. He hadn't even expected him to notice his absence. What surprised him even more was that he had teamed up with _Soubi_. Ritsuka could barely believe that Soubi let him.

Ritsuka watched Soubi draw in his sketchbook before going back to sleep, hoping to get the rest of the medication out of his body. He felt safe cuddled up next to Soubi, the sense of being safe almost new to him. He resolved to tell Soubi everything once he felt up to it and apologize for everything he had done. It took him a while to fall back asleep, but Soubi held him the entire time. This time, Ritsuka's dreams weren't haunted with visions of Seimei, but were filled with the feelings of warmth and happiness.

* * *

**My god this is long.**

** I figured you guys wouldn't mind. The next chapter will most likely be split into three parts. I have to idea how long it will be, since I'm still working on it.**

**REVIEW, please for the next long chapter!**

**~Wolfie  
**


	22. Day 037 part 1

**Day 037**

**_Part one_  
**

Soubi was hesitant to wake Ritsuka up when they finally arrived at their destination. He just looked so relaxed and peaceful, sleeping cuddled into Soubi's side. Soubi seriously considered letting Nagisa take the IV out and then simply carrying him to wherever they were staying, but Soubi doubted that Ritsuka would be very happy with that idea. He had been asleep for more than twelve hours, so it was probably time for him to wake up, anyway.

The others had gone ahead, leaving Nagisa and Soubi with a sleeping Ritsuka. Kiyoshi had said that he would wait for them outside. Kio had wanted to stay, too, but Natsou and Youji had dragged him off somewhere. Soubi still didn't know where they were or where they were staying.

"Ritsuka," Soubi gently shook him, trying to rouse him awake. It had been so long since he had last done this. He used to have to do this whenever he stayed at Ritsuka's house on a school night. Ritsuka was never easy to wake, which was odd since he was usually a light sleeper.

Ritsuka swatted Soubi's hands away, just as he would when Soubi would try to wake him up for school. He turned over, groaning a bit. "Just let me sleep," He said into the pillow. Soubi fought the urge to laugh.

"We're here, Ritsuka," Nagisa tried from beside the bed. "I need you to you to sit up so I can remove your IV."

Slowly, Ritsuka sat up, letting Nagisa pull the IV out, wincing in pain as she did. She looked up at Soubi, giving him a small nod. "The medication I gave him that happens to cloud his mind should be out of his system. He should be able to think better," She told him as she left, leaving Soubi and Ritsuka alone again.

"Where are we?" Asked Ritsuka, rubbing his eyes a bit.

"Honestly, Ritsuka, I have no idea," Soubi grinned, offering his hand out to him, curious to see if he'd take it.

Ritsuka did without hesitating. Soubi helped him up and out of the room, careful since Ritsuka was stumbling a bit.

Soubi knew, and he assumed Ritsuka did too, that tonight was going to be a long night. Now that Ritsuka could think clearly, he would probably talk about Seimei, among other things. Some of those things would be hard for the both of them. There would be crying and yelling, probably from the both of them. Soubi really didn't know what to expect. He wanted to know what Seimei did to Ritsuka, even though it'd hurt to hear. He wanted to know how Ritsuka felt about Seimei and what his feelings for Soubi were, if there were any. They couldn't put this off. Everything that was kept inside was going to come out tonight.

Ritsuka covered his eyes when he stepped out of the vehicle. Soubi could understand why, since the late afternoon sun blinded him for a moment, too. When his vision cleared up, he saw that the place they were staying wasn't what he had been expecting.

Before them was a towering five-star hotel that Soubi had heard of many times before. It was on a beautiful coast line in south Japan, where it was warmer. It held famous art exhibits that Soubi had only read about. He had never expected _this_ to be the place they were going to _hide_.

"Aren't we trying to fly under the radar?" Ritsuka sounded like he couldn't believe it, either.

"That's what I thought, too," It was so strange, it was almost laughable. Soubi was trying to work out how the hell Ritsu had thought they could hide in a place like this. "Let's go and see where we're supposed to go."

Ritsuka grasped onto his hand tighter as Soubi led him inside the front doors. Kio, Natsou and Youji, and Kiyoshi were waiting inside. Soubi watched Ritsuka meet his dad's eyes for a moment before shrinking back slightly.

"Loveless!" Youji yelled, pouncing on him from behind. Ritsuka let go of Soubi's hand to try to fight him off and prevent himself from taking a fall to the ground.

"Don't call him that!" Soubi scolded him angrily, yanking Youji off of Ritsuka.

"It's his name, isn't it?" Natsou reasoned, holding onto Youji as if Soubi had actually hurt him.

"My name is Ritsuka; not Loveless!" Ritsuka protested.

Soubi sighed, trying not to smile a little. For some reason, he had been expecting things to be completely different. This was one of the oldest fights Natsou, Youji, and Ritsuka had. Soubi didn't know why he had been expecting Ritsuka to react any differently.

"Fine, _Ritsuka_," Youji all but sneered. "How was-" He shut up when Soubi shot him a warning glance, telling him not to say anything about Seimei. "-getting taken care of by Soubi and Nagisa?"

Soubi left the three to squabble and went towards Kiyoshi, who stood by the oak check in desk. The lobby alone was unbelievably exquisite. A sitting area was set up for the patron's comfort, but to Soubi it just looked over done. Famous paintings hung on the high walls, most of which caught Soubi's attention. The carpet was a dark gray and covered the entire large lobby. The ceilings were high and there seemed to be another floor above the lobby.

"This isn't exactly hiding," Soubi hissed to Kiyoshi so that the receptionist wouldn't hear.

"You're wrong," Kiyoshi said bluntly, his eyes on his son. Ritsuka was fighting with Youji over something, protesting something in a high-pitched voice. Natsou was behind them, grinning.

"How can I be-?"

"You're wrong," Kiyoshi told Soubi again, this time more firmly. "This place is safe. No unidentified persons or vehicles are allowed within a mile of this place. No media is allowed for five miles. It has top notch security and every patron is thoroughly checked out. We're safe here for the time being." His eyes never left Ritsuka. Kio was now involved, trying to get Natsou and Youji to quit pulling at Ritsuka's fake ears.

"How long has it been since you've seen him?" Soubi changed the subject. Up until the day before, he hadn't seen Ritsuka in over a month, but it had probably been longer for Kiyoshi.

"Three months," Kiyoshi answered after a moment. Finally, he looked at Soubi. "Is it okay for me to visit once he moves in with you? I mean, if he still wants to see me."

Soubi was almost surprised to hear that Kiyoshi was still going to let Ritsuka move in with him, "Of course."

"Aoyagi-san?" The receptionist said, getting both Soubi and Kiyoshi's attention. She was a young woman, holding a clipboard and wearing a headset. She nodded towards Soubi, "Agatsuma-san?" Soubi nodded and she marked something down on her clipboard. "We would like to inform you that we know of your situation and we would like to do anything we can to help. Your rooms will be on the sixth floor in our most secure suites. Please follow me, and tell Kaidou-san to, also."

"Situation? Suites?" Soubi muttered in an almost joking manner to Kiyoshi.

The other man smirked, shrugging, "I have my connections, as well as Ritsu."

"Ritsuka," Soubi called. Ritsuka looked up from where he was struggling to keep Natsou and Youji from taking his fake ears. He shoved them both off and came to Soubi, looking down. Soubi noted that the headband was crooked and silently fixed it, hoping Ritsuka would feel better. Ritsuka's eyes glanced upwards for a second, but quickly dropped back down when his father looked at him.

Soubi suddenly understood what was making Ritsuka upset. It had to do with his father. Soubi had known there'd be conflict between them, but it seemed as though Ritsuka was trying to avoid Kiyoshi.

"Follow me, please," The receptionist led them to a private elevator behind her desk and gave them their key cards, sending them off.

"We figured out rooming yesterday," Kiyoshi explained to Ritsuka and Soubi. Ritsuka kept his head down, but reached for Soubi's hand again. "I'm with Nakahira. Kio, Natsou, and Youji are all together." Kio started to protest but didn't. "Nagisa, Seven, and Chouma are all together, and you two," He glanced at Ritsuka and Soubi. "Are together." Ritsuka looked up, meeting his father's eyes for the first time. He didn't say anything, though.

Neither Soubi or Ritsuka said anything to each other until they got to their room. Soubi was waiting until they were alone. Their room was right next to Kiyoshi and Nakahira's. The hallway they were in was far from the atrium, probably for security reasons.

Ritsuka let go of Soubi's hand and went inside, leaving Soubi with Kiyoshi.

"You two have a lot of things to sort out," Kiyoshi stated what was on Soubi's mind.

"Yeah…" Soubi didn't comment on the intrusion of privacy. "I'm going to go see if he's okay."

"Get some rest tonight," Kiyoshi told him, going into his room.

Soubi hesitated before going joining Ritsuka. Ritsuka wasn't alright. There was no telling how much Seimei had screwed him up. He might never recover from Seimei's torment. It scared Soubi to think that Ritsuka may never be the same caring, innocent child he was before.

When Soubi finally went inside, he found that Ritsuka wasn't in the living area of the suite. Soubi spotted his own bags that had been brought up set on a comfortable looking couch. There was a kitchenette in the living space, as well as a dining area. Large windows looking out on the beach and the ocean. There were a couple bookshelves filled with books and a wide screen television across from the couch. Soubi briefly wondered how crazy the media was going after their sudden disappearance.

The door on the west wall was open, so Soubi wandered inside, finding that it was a bedroom. Ritsuka sat on the window seat, looking out at the ocean. He had it open a little so that the sea breeze blew at his raven colored hair and at the white curtains. It was a nice room, too, but Soubi noticed that the only bed was a large canopy bed made for lovers.

"Hey," Ritsuka greeted softly, still staring out the window at the gorgeous coastline. He looked beautiful sitting there bathed in the light which contrasted well with his white shirt. Soubi wanted to paint him.

"I'll sleep on the couch," Soubi offered, not moving towards him.

"No," Ritsuka's reply was quiet, but sure. "I want you to sleep in here with me." A particularly strong gust came through the window, causing the pulled-back curtains to billow out. Ritsuka sat with one leg on the seat and the other on the ground, looking quite relaxed.

"Are you sure?" Soubi still asked. Ritsuka was probably confused on his feelings, which could make him change his mind later.

"Yes."

Soubi was at a loss for words. He didn't know how to start a conversation about Seimei. He considered just saying something bluntly, but that might scare Ritsuka. Instead he just said, "Ritsuka, is something wrong?"

Ritsuka looked at him and Soubi hated that expression on his face. It was the one that told him Ritsuka was terrified and in a lot of pain. It was the expression Shapeless had used that had caused Soubi to go into a fit of insanity. It was the one Ritsuka had around his mother. Soubi couldn't stand seeing Ritsuka in so much pain, especially when he could prevent it.

"How can you still love me after everything I've done?" Soubi could hear the sadness in Ritsuka's voice. The boy had gotten off the window seat and came to stand across from Soubi. "I don't understand."

Soubi wanted to hold him, but didn't want to scare him. He also couldn't think of a good way to explain why he loved Ritsuka. It was because Ritsuka would never hurt him on purpose. It was because he cared for Ritsuka and Ritsuka cared for him. It was because Ritsuka didn't think of him as some tool, but as a person just like him. There were so many other reasons, so many other thoughts scattered around Soubi's head. He didn't quite grasp how to tell Ritsuka all this so he just said, "I'm your Fighter, Ritsuka. I'll always love you, no matter what."

That hadn't explained his feelings for Ritsuka at all. Soubi wanted to take it back, but he didn't know what to say in its place. He loved Ritsuka, but his feelings went so much further than just love. He would do anything for Ritsuka, not only because he was his Fighter, but because he cared _that_ much for him. Even if Ritsuka didn't return his love, Soubi would still never stop loving him. Ritsuka was the only person for him. He would never find anyone else that could fill Ritsuka's place.

Ritsuka's eyes went wide and the pained expression disappeared, only to be replaced by an expression that Soubi couldn't read. "No!" Ritsuka said loudly, breathing hard.

Soubi was even more confused now. He wasn't Ritsuka's Fighter? Had Seimei found Ritsuka's Fighter? No, that didn't make any sense. Seimei wanted Ritsuka all to himself. Introducing Ritsuka to his Fighter would be counterproductive since Ritsuka and his other half would form an immediate bond.

Ritsuka's gaze softened at seeing Soubi's apparent confusion. "I mean…yes," Ritsuka began tentatively. He seemed to be at a loss for words, just as Soubi had been moments before. When he spoke again, he sounded surer of himself, "But you're so much more than just that."

Soubi smiled at him, taking a step towards him. He wanted Ritsuka to go on. It sounded like he was going to tell Soubi what he felt for him. This was the moment Soubi had been waiting for since the day they met. He had wanted Ritsuka to decide to tell him himself, though.

Ritsuka was blushing and his eyes darted away from Soubi's, only to return a second later. "You're…" He took another step towards the older man, holding his gaze as he talked softly. "You're my best friend. You're my boyfriend. You're the love of my life. You're my lover. You're my guardian. You're my angel. You're my everything, Soubi. I would go through hell just to find you. When Seimei took me away…it me realize how much I love you."

Upon hearing those words, Soubi closed in the rest of the distance between them. He pulled Ritsuka into his arms, holding him tightly against him. So long he had waited, wanted, to hear those words come from _anybody_. His entire life he had just wanted to be loved by someone. Well…there was Kio, but Soubi didn't love him in the same way. He only cared about him as a friend. Ritsuka…Ritsuka returned his feelings exactly.

"I feel the same way. I love you. I almost always have," Soubi started whispering in Ritsuka's ear. Ritsuka hugged him tighter. Soubi could feel that the child was crying into his chest. "I love you more than I've ever loved anything or anyone else. You don't know how hard it was for me to lose you for thirty-seven days."

Ritsuka pulled away from his chest slightly to look up at him. Soubi noticed that he'd grown a little, but not much. He could still only reach Soubi's stomach when they hugged like this. "Thirty-five days," Ritsuka corrected him softly. "Well, I guess I must've been knocked out for two days."

Soubi pressed a light kiss to his forehead, brushing his bangs to the side, "I didn't start _really_ looking for you until it was two days in, so let's just say thirty-five."

And there was that pained expression again. It looked even worse this time than before. "I'm so sorry, Soubi. About everything," Ritsuka murmured, the tears falling from his eyes quickly. "I shouldn't have said those things during our fight. I never meant them. I didn't want to hurt you. Soubi…Seimei was horrible. He raped me on the third day of being there." He buried his head on Soubi's chest again, sobbing.

_I don't want to see him cry_. Soubi sat on the floor against the bed, pulling Ritsuka with him. He cradled Ritsuka in his arms, whispering words into his ears. _I really don't want to see him cry, but maybe there's nothing I can do. He just needs to get it all out_.

* * *

**Good god, this chapter is long. It's 19 pages on Microsoft word and just under 12,000 words...I don't thing I've ever written a chapter so long. **

**I finished it last night and I had quite a bit of problems splitting it in the three parts I wanted... I think it came out alright, though. I think you'll all be happy with it. Especially with the last part...XD**

**So, I'll try to put the next chapter up in the next day. Until, then REVIEW, please! I love seeing what you all have to say, to do not hesitate to give me feedback.**

**Oh, and I keep forgetting to say this, but go vote on a secondary pairing on my profile, please. Natsou and Youji are not up there because I've already decided to make them a pairing in this fic. Yes, they will eventually be doing more than just terrorizing Ritsuka. \**

**~Wolfie  
**


	23. Day 37 part 2

**Day 037**

**_part 2_**

Ritsuka felt absolutely pathetic. He had confessed his love to Soubi and then started crying. He was pathetic. _I cry too much_, Ritsuka thought as his hands found the fabric of Soubi's jacket. He clutched it in both hands, still bawling. Memories from the past month flooded his every sense, almost completely taking over his now clear mind. The only thing that kept him sane was Soubi's strong arms wrapped around him, keeping him safe.

"Ritsuka," Ritsuka felt Soubi's lips brush against his forehead. "I know it hurts, but it'll be best if you talk about it."

Ritsuka hated that Soubi was right. He wanted to talk to Soubi about it, but it was going to be painful. He rested his head on his chest, feeling the older man's heartbeat. It was a source of comfort for him. Ritsuka still fisted his jacket, wanting something to hold onto.

"I know," Ritsuka got in between cries. "But Soubi… I don't know. It's so embarrassing to cry in front of you." _I hate it when I cry in front of you._ It made Ritsuka look like a little kid.

Soubi only held him tighter against him, leaning down and kissing the tears away. He felt so close. Ritsuka wanted to be closer, though. He needed to tell Soubi. He needed to just get it all out. Now was the best time to do it, since Soubi was already holding him and ready to listen. Ritsuka could still barely believe that Soubi felt the same way Ritsuka did.

"It's okay to cry," Soubi murmured, shifting Ritsuka so that he was more comfortably on his lap. Ritsuka shook his head, feeling even more pathetic than before. Maybe he could make up for it by telling Soubi everything.

"I-I woke up in a dungeon," Ritsuka started in a shaky voice. He swallowed, trying to find his voice and speak strongly. There was nothing to hurt him except his own memories. The comfort of Soubi would chase those bad thoughts away. He had him to hold onto. Soubi would protect him from the wretched memories.

"Take your time," Soubi told him gently.

Ritsuka felt a small smile tugging at his lips. Soubi wasn't pushing him or even forcing him into doing this. He was trying to get Ritsuka to do it himself. Soubi had always been able to get Ritsuka to talk.

"I'm not sure what happened before that," Ritsuka's voice came stronger as he looked into Soubi's clear blue eyes. He felt like he could get lost in them. "But I woke up chained to a wall. I felt like my back was broken and like I hadn't eaten in a couple days."

Soubi was shaking his head, his eyes full of sadness. Ritsuka slipped his arms around him, placing his head on Soubi's chest again. There was that heartbeat again, a steady rhythm that told Ritsuka Soubi was alive. Ritsuka kept on speaking, now a bit embarrassed, "I found your coat and that's when I sort of started to remember our fight. I felt horrible. There were dead bodies there and they smelled." Ritsuka still remembered being in the dungeon. He remembered every moment of being in that place for an entire week. "I really started to miss you then. Nobody came in to see me. I was lonely."

Soubi looked even sadder. He still held Ritsuka, though, "I'm sorry, Ritsuka. If I hadn't have left, none of this would've happened."

Ritsuka suddenly understood why Seimei had taken him away when he did.  
"Wrong, Soubi," Ritsuka whispered, reaching up and resting him hand on Soubi's cheek. "Seimei would've taken me whenever he saw the chance. That fight was inevitable, anyways. Let's…not fight anymore, Soubi."

Soubi leaned down again, resting his head against Ritsuka's. Ritsuka closed his eyes halfway, feeling Soubi's gentle breath against his skin. Ritsuka didn't want to fight anymore. He loved Soubi. Sometimes when they fought, Ritsuka said things that he didn't mean. He hurt Soubi. Fighting made distance between them, distance that Ritsuka didn't feel now. He wanted to be this close to Soubi all the time.

"No more fighting," Soubi didn't pull away at all. "No more lying."

This surprised Ritsuka, though he didn't let it show. Soubi wasn't going to lie to him anymore. They wouldn't fight anymore, either. They would argue, both knew that, but that was okay. Arguing was okay, fighting was not.

"Promise?" Ritsuka's arms went around Soubi's neck.

Soubi kissed him in responsive. Ritsuka closed his eyes, relaxing into the kiss that sealed a promise between the two. Soubi rubbed Ritsuka's back in slow circles. Neither tried to deepen the kiss. Ritsuka simply enjoyed the comfort of Soubi's lips against his. It had been so long since he had felt this way. The kiss in the medical room didn't count since Ritsuka hadn't exactly been right in the mind during it.

Ritsuka pulled away first, breathing hard. He felt the strength to keep going about his experiences with Seimei. "Nobody came to visit me on the second day, either," Ritsuka continued on quietly. "I woke up still chained to the wall." He tried to think of a good way to describe the horrors of that basement room. "It was like a prison cell. I was all alone in the dark. There was a door and a light switch to turn on the light on the ceiling, but the chain didn't reach that far. It was so close, though. I hated being in the dark. Seimei had killed other people in that room. It was gruesome to look at."

"He's horrible, Ritsuka," Soubi muttered, probably half to himself. Ritsuka gasped, shocked that Soubi talked about Seimei in such a way. Sure, Ritsuka hated his older brother, but he didn't think Soubi thought so lowly of him. Seimei was his former master, after all. Soubi met held his gaze, nodding slightly, "I'll explain later."

Explain? What was there to explain? Was Soubi…breaking away from Seimei? How was that even possible? Was it? Pushing these thoughts aside, Ritsuka went on, "When I got up, I found out someone had left me some pictures and food. He was watching us, Soubi. He's _been_ watching us since the day we met."

Soubi didn't seem shocked at all. His eyes darkened for a moment, something that didn't go unnoticed by Ritsuka. "I almost sort of expected that," Soubi sighed, sitting back. Ritsuka was still on his lap, their arms loosely wrapped around each other. "I saw the pictures."

"You have them?" Ritsuka wondered if Soubi had saved his coat, which Ritsuka had been hugging during the attack. Soubi only nodded. "That's when I found out that he'd been watching us."

Soubi shook his head, "It was Nisei."

"How do you know?" Ritsuka had known that it was Nisei who wrote the captions on the back, but he hadn't known who had taken them."

"Seimei always had someone to do his dirty work for him," Soubi informed him. "Nisei goes off and does everything for Seimei. Did you notice that he referred to me as 'that lunatic'? That's how I knew he wrote the captions, too."

"You're right," Ritsuka thought it over. It did make sense. Seimei wouldn't get his hands dirty or risk getting caught by taking pictures.

"That was the day I met your father," Soubi stated. "He was almost as big of an ass as you made him out to be. I hit him twice that day. Then I beat him up pretty badly when he put a spell on me about five days into the investigation."

Ritsuka smiled with fond memories of what he had done on that day. Sure, he had gotten beat for it later, but it was still a good memory. He chased that memory away, too, but he promised himself to tell Soubi about that, too. Ritsuka shuddered, realizing that he had come to the third day.

"The third day…" Ritsuka began uncertainly, almost not wanting to talk about it. "That's when…when Seimei raped me." Ritsuka paused, trying to regain his composure. The memory kept playing over and over in his head as he talked about it. Soubi was rubbing slow circles on his back, giving Ritsuka a little comfort. "He came in and said that my ears belonged to him. He put something in my food that made it so that I couldn't move."

Ritsuka looked down, absentmindedly fingering one of the buttons on Soubi's jacket. He attempted again to regain control of himself. He measured out his breathing. His heart rate slowed to a steady beat again, instead of the pounding it had been doing just moments before.

"He was rough at first," Ritsuka closed his eyes. The scene played out in his head, the rape overcoming everything else. "He kissed me hard and bit my lip. He pushed me down on the ground and got on top of me. I tried to push him off, but he was stronger and the stuff he gave me made me weak. He took off my shirt. I told him to stop, but he didn't."

Ritsuka's hand found Soubi's and he grasped it firmly, feeling his long fingers intertwine with his own. They felt so different from Seimei's. So warm and soft…

"You don't have to go on, Ritsuka," Soubi explained softly. "If this is making you uncomfortable, we can stop."

Ritsuka shook his head, taking another pause. He opened his eyes a little, staring at their clasped hands. It felt so right, like they belonged with each other. Ritsuka didn't care whether or not his real Fighter was out there or not. Ritsuka belonged here with Soubi. Sometimes even fate couldn't break two people apart.

"He asked who I was going to give my ears to," Ritsuka's voice wasn't as strong as he'd hoped it would be, but that didn't matter. "I told him you." Ritsuka heard Soubi make a small sound and he could tell it was out of distaste for Seimei taking Ritsuka's ears by force. "He called you and idiot and a dog. After I yelled at him to not talk about you like that, he told me that you didn't love me and that you never did."

This time, Soubi actually _growled_. Ritsuka would've laughed if it had come up in a different situation. Ritsuka hadn't believed Seimei for a second when he said that Soubi had never loved him.

"That man…" Soubi was saying under his breath. He didn't say anything more, and just left it at that.

Ritsuka didn't hesitate this time when going on, "He bit me _hard_. It was enough to draw blood from my neck. He started fingering me, you know, 'preparing' me, and then he just suddenly _changed_. He started being nice and told me that he didn't want to hurt me. He kissed me again, but he was gentler. I let him use his tongue. I was afraid he'd hurt me if I didn't let him. He told me he loved me and then he starting kissing my chest and sucking me. God, I feel like I betrayed you."

"Ritsuka, look at me," Soubi requested, not seeming mad at all. Ritsuka obeyed, tilting his head upwards to look into Soubi's eyes. He was lost again in the depths of them and he felt even more guilty at getting turned on while being raped. "Why do you feel that way?"

Ritsuka wanted to look away but found that he couldn't. "It's because…" Ritsuka tried not to cry again. "I got…aroused and came…" Ritsuka tore his gaze away, burying himself in Soubi's chest again. It was so embarrassing. Soubi was probably understandably angry. He felt so guilty over it.

But Soubi's hands were stroking his hair, fingering his black locks tenderly. "Is that what you feel bad about?" Soubi touched his fake ears, rubbing them gently, treating them as if they were real.

Ritsuka nodded against his chest, wondering if Soubi wasn't angry or if he was just hiding it. "Are you mad…?" He tried, anxious to know.

"No, Ritsuka," Soubi's voice was so kind. He couldn't be lying since, they had both promised to not lie to each other anymore. "But I know that you feel humiliated and embarrassed by it. You think it's wrong and that getting turned on when you were raped means that you liked it. It doesn't mean you liked it, Ritsuka. It's just your body reacting to sexual things. Did he kiss you in places that made you feel pleasure?"

Ritsuka nodded again, staring up at him now. How could Soubi explain exactly how Ritsuka was feeling? He was starting to feel a little better, but not much.

"That's normal, too," Soubi assured him, smiling in a way that made Ritsuka perk up a bit. "It can't be helped, Ritsuka. I promise you that everything your body did was completely normal. It happens to a lot of people that get raped."

"How do you know all this?" Soubi seemed to be extremely knowledgeable on the subject of rape. It made Ritsuka think of how he never talked about how he lost his ears. "Soubi…How did you lose your ears?"

There was no hesitation in Soubi's voice when he answered, "The same way you did, except it was to my teacher."

_Ritsu…?_ "I'm sorry…wait, by teacher do you mean Ritsu? Was he rough with you, too?" Ritsuka pressed, wanting just a little more information.

"Seimei was rough with you? I know you said he was earlier, but then you said he changed. I just assumed that he went slow after that…" Soubi's eyes were wide in shock. He held on a little tighter to Ritsuka.

Ritsuka was a little confused. Hadn't Soubi expected Seimei to have raped Ritsuka roughly? "Yeah. He prepared me a _little_, but it wasn't enough. It really hurt and he just went right at it." Ritsuka shivered at the memory.

"I'm sorry," Soubi murmured, not loosening his grip on Ritsuka. He looked sad again. Ritsuka wanted to console him, so, blushing furiously, he leaned forward and kissed him on the lips very quickly.

"Why are you sorry?" Ritsuka held onto both Soubi's hands now. "It's not your fault. There's nothing to be sorry about. Should I go on?"

"If you want to, Ritsuka. I'll listen to whatever you have to tell me." There was that comforting voice again, the one that had such an effect on little Ritsuka. It made Ritsuka want to tell him again how much he loved him.

Ritsuka closed his eyes again, holding onto Soubi's hands tightly, "He unchained me and turned the light on. I fell asleep. I met Nakahira the next day. He told me he was my caretaker and he gave me a bath and then took me back to my prison cell. He also gave me a notebook and I wrote about you in it. It hurt to walk that day so I just stayed in the spot I had been sleeping in. On the fifth day I…"

Ritsuka trailed off, feeling his face heat up again. He almost backed out of telling Soubi, but in the end he didn't. "Did you see that picture of us kissing…?"

"Yes. What about it?" Soubi sounded curious.

"I sort of…" Ritsuka wasn't sure how to say what he did. "Thought about that day and I got turned on." Ritsuka was out of his mind with embarrassment. What was he supposed to say; '_I get off to thoughts of you?'_ "And I touched myself," Ritsuka's words came out in a flurry and all together.

"There's no need to be ashamed of it," Ritsuka could hear Soubi's amusement, still. This only made him more flustered, but he was glad he was telling Soubi everything.

The next several hours consisted of Soubi listening to everything that had happened. Ritsuka cried a couple more times, mostly at the parts where he had believed that Soubi was dead. Soubi comforted him with the handholding, the gentle words whispered into his ears, the hugging, and maybe even the occasional kiss. Ritsuka felt closer than he'd ever been to him. It almost felt too good to be true.

* * *

Soubi was furious at Seimei. He had never been this angry at someone, not even Nisei. It shocked him, since Ritsu had taught him never to show anger of any kind towards his master, not even if his master was a lying, murdering, sadistic bastard like Seimei. It was the final part of their connection breaking, Soubi could feel it. There was no longer anything between them. He suspected part of the name was still on his neck, but that would fade slowly.

Seimei had hit Ritsuka as punishment for touching himself while thinking about Soubi. He then proceeded to tell Ritsuka that Soubi was _dead_ and then molested him for four days straight afterwards. Ritsuka had cried a lot when he got to this part. Soubi could see why. Ritsuka had finally snapped and told Seimei that he hated him. After that, Seimei had given Ritsuka a shock collar, though Ritsuka hadn't known what it was at first. On the fourteenth day, the day Soubi had called Ritsuka, Seimei had molested Ritsuka when he was having a wet dream.

Ritsuka told Soubi of how the phone had gone off and Seimei had fought him for it. After Ritsuka picked up the phone, Seimei had electrocuted him and then picked up the phone himself. Of course, Soubi had ended the call and broke the equipment before Seven was able to get a fix on Ritsuka's location.

Ritsuka had gone on to tell him about the manor and gaining Seimei's trust. He spoke with disgust about kissing Seimei and sleeping with him. He talked about watching the news coverage and about Seimei's extreme mood swings. He told stories of his explorations of the manor and Nakahira taking him to the school.

As soon as Ritsuka told Soubi about Seimei giving him the locket. His hands went straight to his neck, tearing the necklace off. Soubi had seen it the day before, though he didn't say anything. He pulled at the chain, breaking the clasp, and threw it across the room in a fit of anger, yelling that he didn't care what was inside of it and that he just wanted it gone. He had a small bout of angered and frustrated crying but after a short while he continued on, telling Soubi of being in a lockdown, getting raped again, and then trying to save his new friends during the attack.

It was so like Ritsuka to do that. Ritsuka, so sweet and altruistic, telling Soubi to save the other two as well as him. Were Seimei and Ritsuka even related? Seimei was full of himself. He held himself, and Ritsuka, above all others. Narcissistic and obsessive summed Seimei up pretty well. Soubi still felt a little odd thinking of him like that, since it was still unusual for him.

Ritsuka, on the other hand, was very selfless. He cared more about others. The two brothers were so different, even though they looked alike. Before Ritsuka had gotten taken, Soubi had often wondered if Ritsuka would become like Seimei when he was older. Now he could see that that would never happen.

"Soubi? Are you alright?" Ritsuka sounded quite worried. After Ritsuka was done, he had seemed a little sad, so Soubi had resorted to holding him close in his lap. He tried to estimate how much time they had just been holding onto each other silently.

"I'm okay," Soubi pulled away, his hands leaving the warm spot on the back of Ritsuka's head he'd been holding on to. "I'm going to get unpacked," He said, gently pulling Ritsuka to his feet.

It had grown dark out. It was almost eight, now. Ritsuka and Soubi had been talking together for hours and hours. Soubi smiled to himself; it felt nice to be near Ritsuka again.

"O-okay…" Ritsuka stood unsteadily on his feet, stretching. Soubi left him alone for a moment, grabbing his bags and bringing them back into the room, finding Ritsuka still in the same place he had left them.

_Why does he look a little lost…?_ Ritsuka looked like he wanted something, but didn't know how to ask for it. Finally, Soubi watched Ritsuka sit down on the bed, fumbling with his hands in his lap. Curiously, Soubi went over to him.

"Is something wrong, Ritsuka?" Soubi sat close to him on the comfortable bed. "Are you unhappy? Did I do something to make you uncomfortable? Do you not want me to sleep in here tonight?" As much as Soubi wanted to be near his little Sacrifice, the

need to keep him comfortable was even greater. Of course, he wouldn't do anything Ritsuka didn't want, but Ritsuka might not understand that after his nights with Seimei.

"You idiot," Ritsuka said softly and in a playful way. Ritsuka met Soubi's eyes and gave him a slight, sincere smile. "I'm just not sure what's going to come next."

Soubi took Ritsuka's hand in his own, hoping that the small gesture was alright with the child. "We're here because we knew you would need a place to relax for a few days," He explained. "After a few days, we'll start planning and figuring out what's next."

"I want to be included!" Ritsuka demanded immediately, sounding a bit panicked.

Why wouldn't they include him? Ritsuka really wasn't a kid anymore, even though he wasn't an adult. He had seen more than any other kid his age, probably even more than anyone else had in their lifetime. Ritsuka could handle it. Soubi was sure of that.

"We're not going to leave you out. I swear that I'll force them to let you know everything," Soubi promised him.

Ritsuka perked up, looking much happier. Those sweet, soft, full lips twisted into a smile. Soubi had the uncontrollable urge to kiss him.

"Can I kiss you?" He leaned in a little, though not close enough to meet those lips.

Ritsuka tilted his head up, leaning in, too, his expression a bit more serious. "You've never asked before."

"Maybe I should start," Soubi murmured. Their lips met in a kiss and Soubi wasn't sure who had initiated it first.

* * *

**CAN ANYONE GUESS WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT? There's still one more part left in this chapter which is almost five-thousand words and written entirely in Ritsuka's view. It's one scene, if that's some sort of clue. I can't really give away more or it'll be too easy. I want to see who can guess it first~!  
**

**THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THE REVIEWS! I really do love all my reviewers and readers, so keep it up! THis is my most viewed, most reviewed, and longest story I have ever written! It takes up OVER 100 pages on Microsoft word.**

**I AM IN A STATE OF UTMOST HAPPINESS BECAUSE THEY ANNOUNCED A Professor Layton and Phoenix Wright CROSSOVER GAME!**

**That will be all.**

**Please ignore my random outbursts. And review, please!**

**~Wolfie  
**


	24. Day 037 part 3

**Day 037**

_** part three**_

Ritsuka felt as though he could get high off of Soubi's kisses. Being kissed by him was like nothing else. Ritsuka had been kissed by a few others, just Youji and Seimei, but neither of them could kiss like Soubi.

Ritsuka didn't know who had started the kiss. Soubi was taking his time, though, kissing him slowly. When Ritsuka felt Soubi lightly, almost hesitantly, trace Ritsuka's bottom lip with his tongue, Ritsuka decided not to tease him. He opened his mouth, turning his head to the side, letting Soubi deepen the kiss. It felt nice to do this with him. Soubi was gentle, slow, feeling his way around Ritsuka's mouth, making him moan a little.

It didn't freak Ritsuka out, as it did with Seimei. This felt natural. He wanted more. He wanted to be physically closer to Soubi. He wanted to lose his ears for real this time, with consent and with the one he loved.

Ritsuka leaned upwards, placing his hand against Soubi's chest. He kissed back, tangling his tongue with Soubi's. He moaned, feeling all the blood rush to his cheeks and downwards. Soubi's hand let go of his, moving onto Ritsuka's thigh, stroking up and down lightly. Ritsuka let out a muffled moan as his arousal only grew. This was better than any of his dreams or fantasies. Ritsuka was almost embarrassed that making out and a simple hand on his leg could make him hard.

Soubi's hands suddenly moved to his shoulders, shoving him away almost violently. Ritsuka made a sharp sound of pain as he hit the bed, lying on his aching back. Soubi was still sitting in the same spot with his head in his hands.

"Soubi…?" Ritsuka didn't move, afraid to know why Soubi so roughly pushed him away.

"I'm sorry, Ritsuka," Soubi wouldn't look at Ritsuka, refused to. _What's wrong with him?_ He was acting weird again.

"Why?" Ritsuka sat up, moving beside him again. Soubi had to have a reason for getting violent with him, right? He wouldn't have done it otherwise…

"I lost control, Ritsuka!" Ritsuka sat back again. He had never heard Soubi raise his voice like he had around him. "I could've molested you just now! I would've never forgiven myself if I did anything you didn't want!" Soubi was breathing hard and almost yelling. Was his angry at himself rather than at Ritsuka?

Ritsuka moved to sit on Soubi's lap again. The older man still refused to look at Ritsuka. He didn't even move, not to hold Ritsuka or to push him away. He simply sat there, looking down and away.

"What if… What if I want it?" Ritsuka could feel his face reddening again. He understood why Soubi was acting this way. He was trying to be cautious of Ritsuka, to not push him into anything. He pressed his lips against Soubi's, using his tongue to show him that he wanted this. Soubi started to respond after only a few moments, thoroughly exploring the teen's mouth again. His hands moved gently behind Ritsuka, rubbing small circles on the small of his back.

Soubi was still the first to pull away, but he let the kiss last for longer than Ritsuka expected him to. "Ritsuka…Are you sure?" The anger had faded from Soubi's face, but Ritsuka couldn't read his expression.

"Yes," Ritsuka breathed, blushing even more as he realized that his clothed erection was obvious. He pressed himself lightly down, rocking his hips and whimpering as they contacted with Soubi's. Ritsuka's body felt hot, hotter than he had ever been while fantasizing. "I want this."

Soubi grabbed him, pulling him close so that there was no more space between them. Ritsuka let out another small sound as Soubi held him against him around the waist.

"You're a little tease," Ritsuka shivered at Soubi's deep voice speaking directly into his ear, followed by a small lick behind it.

"Mmm…" Ritsuka tried to keep his voice down. All comprehendible thoughts had left his brain as soon as Soubi had licked behind his ear. "My ears…I want to give them to you."

Ritsuka had expected Soubi to be a little confused by this, but he didn't seem to be at all. He lifted Ritsuka up, setting him down on his back on the bed. Soubi smiled down at him, making Ritsuka blush even more. The older man sat back on his knees, his eyes travelling down Ritsuka's body, stopping at the evident bulge in Ritsuka's jeans. Out of slight embarrassment, Ritsuka pulled him down by the collar of his jacket for another kiss. They made out again, tongues moving against each other in some sort of a dance.

When he pulled away for air, Ritsuka felt Soubi's hand fingering the bottom hem of his shirt, sliding under it and resting his fingers on Ritsuka's small chest. His other hand traveled downwards to lightly rub Ritsuka's erection. Ritsuka just moaned even louder, although he could barely feel Soubi's touch through his jeans. That was when Ritsuka lost all sense of anything except Soubi on top of him, doing things that Ritsuka had only dreamed about.

Soubi leaned down again, close to his ear. "Is this okay, Ritsuka?" He asked, kissing the spot below his ear, making Ritsuka squirm with pleasure. His hand rubbed him a bit more, only making him harder, and then stopped completely.

"Y-yes," Was all Ritsuka could get out. He thrusted upwards, trying to grind his hips against Soubi's, longing for that touch again. His Fighter held him down, though, still smiling.

"Not yet," Soubi murmured, pressing his lips against that spot again under his ear, nipping at it a bit. Ritsuka whined, surprised at how high-pitched it was. All sense of humiliation had left him, so he honestly didn't care that he sounded female. It was strange that just a little nip below his ear could give him so much pleasure. "I want this to last as long as possible. It looks as though…I've found one of your sensitive spots."

Ritsuka pulled Soubi towards him for a kiss, pressing his lips hard against his blonde boyfriend's. He found Soubi's taste addicting. He liked being able to taste him like this and being able to get familiarized with his warm mouth. His hands wove into Soubi's silky soft blonde hair, feeling it in-between his fingers. Something seemed different about his smell and taste, though. It was something missing. Oddly enough, Ritsuka liked Soubi's scent and taste better now.

"Did you stop smoking?" When they stopped kissing, Ritsuka finally placed what was missing.

"Oh?" Soubi moved down, glancing up as he kissed down to Ritsuka's neck. "I didn't think it was noticeable already." Ritsuka gasped as the older man's warm breath touched his neck. With another small glance up at Ritsuka, Soubi came down on that spot, kissing it tenderly and licking around it.

"Nng…Soubi…" Ritsuka moaned as Soubi nipped lightly at that spot, sucking on it. "You're good at this…That's weird…" Ritsuka couldn't get any harder. If Soubi touched him just once there, he would probably come. His hands found Soubi's jacket again and he began to pull on it, muttering, "This thing has to come off."

Soubi sat up for a moment, taking off his jacket and pulling his white shirt off. Ritsuka genuinely tried not to stare at his well-muscled, but failed and looked Soubi up and down as he straddled Ritsuka. Ritsuka shuddered, wanting to feel Soubi moving against him, skin on skin. He looked at Soubi with pleading eyes, wanting him to understand without having to voice it.

Soubi smiled again, the sort of kind, loving smile that Ritsuka had fallen in love with. He reached forward, undoing the first few buttons on Ritsuka's shirt. Soubi leaned over him again, almost lying on top of Ritsuka. He didn't put all of his weight on the boy, though, which Ritsuka was grateful for.

This felt unreal. Ritsuka knew that it was happening, but it was already better than any of his fantasies. He wanted to feel Soubi against him- _inside_ of him- before Seimei tried to take him back. This would be the one night where they could be completely alone with each other with no worries about Seimei or being interrupted. After this, who knew what was going to happen. They may be torn apart again by Seimei. They may be forced to separate for the safety of both of them. Who knew? Tonight was their night, the night to truly become one with each other and to form that bond Ritsuka had longed for.

"Soubi…" Ritsuka half whispered, half moaned as Soubi kissed his neck and the skin he had uncovered. Soubi's lips were soft on his skin and when he bit, it was a light nip and some sucking, instead of Seimei's bite-and-draw-blood method. He licked along Ritsuka's throat, finding a few spots to suck on. He had Ritsuka squirming and shaking beneath his touch. Nothing was said except for Ritsuka's soft moans.

"It looks like," Soubi smirked, pressing his fingers against the first place he had sucked on. "You're going to have a few hickeys in the morning." Ritsuka gave a slight smile back, resting his inexperienced hands on Soubi's chest. He closed his eyes a little, just wanting to feel, though he didn't want to look away.

Ritsuka suddenly felt Soubi's clothed, hard cock brush against his leg. Something about it only made him more excited. His own need was aching, but he ignored it and moved his hands around Soubi's body, trying to memorize every part of it. Curiously, Ritsuka flicked his fingers on the man's nipples and heard him gasp Ritsuka's name. He played with his nipples a little more, enjoying the small sounds Soubi was making above him. His hands found his way onto Soubi's back, remembering the scars he had seen there before.

Soubi had paused in his activities until Ritsuka had begun to trace the first scar he had felt. At that point, he had begun to unbutton the rest of Ritsuka's shirt. "Is this alright?" He asked again, glancing up at Ritsuka. Ritsuka nodded, watching Soubi kiss his way down his chest, pausing to take a nipple into his mouth.

"Ah!" Ritsuka squealed, arching his back upwards. Soubi sucked on the small hardening bud, tweaking the other with his hand. Ritsuka was unable to keep his voice quiet any longer. He moaned loudly, thrusting his hips upwards to meet Soubi's.

Soubi gave the same treatment to Ritsuka's other nipple, quickly bringing it to hardness. His hands were on Ritsuka's hips, just above the waistband of his tight jeans. He looked up at Ritsuka again and Ritsuka saw passion, but also caution in his blue eyes.

"Take them off," Ritsuka whispered, giving him the confirmation he needed. Soubi leaned down, moving so that he knelt in-between Ritsuka's legs. Ritsuka let out a high whine, the sight of Soubi in that position making his body shudder. He undid the button on his jeans and pulled down the zipper agonizingly slowly.

Ritsuka felt his entire body flush as Soubi pulled his pants down over his hips and eyed his rock-hard erection through his boxers. "Lift your hips up a little," Soubi urged, his voice only turning Ritsuka on even more. His breath hitched and he lifted up his hips, allowing Soubi to remove his pants and boxers the rest of the way. Ritsuka almost wanted to cover himself up out of embarrassment, but he didn't.

"You're cute," Soubi pressed a kiss to his inner thigh, making Ritsuka's body spasm. Ritsuka thrusted upwards, Soubi's name pouring from his lips in short gasps. His cock stood almost straight up. It pulsed, pre-cum dripping from the tip.

"So cute…" Soubi lifted Ritsuka's leg up and kissed down it, sucking on the inside of his thigh. _What an odd place to leave a love-bite_, thought Ritsuka with a small smile. His member throbbed at the sight of Soubi between his legs.

"Oh…" Ritsuka closed his eyes, his legs quivering in anticipation. He was breathing hard, trying to form a thought in his frazzled brain.

"Hey, Ritsuka," Soubi coaxed him back into full-awareness. "Could you look in the table by the bed for something, please?"

"What is it?" Ritsuka asked, surprised that he could form a coherent sentence. He propped himself up on his elbows, looking down at Soubi.

"Lubricant," He told Ritsuka bluntly. "I don't know if they supply that stuff here, but it's good to check. I wasn't really planning on this, so I don't think I have any. I suppose we could use saliva, but I don't think you're too fond of that idea, are you? Plus, it doesn't work as well."

Ritsuka was suddenly reminded of how Seimei did it with no preparation or barely any. "You're going to…prepare me?" Ritsuka felt like it was a stupid thing to say, but he couldn't help it.

"Of course I will," Soubi was using that loving, caring tone that made Ritsuka love him more than he already did, if that was even possible.

Flustered again, Ritsuka reached into the bedside table, feeling around until he felt a small bottle brush his fingers. He tossed it onto the bed, towards Soubi. "Will that work?"

Soubi eyed the small bottle, probably trying to read the print on it while Ritsuka tried to remember when he had taken off his glasses. "Perfect," Soubi said after a minute. "I'm going to warn you, it's going to probably hurt a little when I prepare you."

Ritsuka hummed in agreement, lying back down, waiting for Soubi to put his fingers in him. "Ah!" Ritsuka yelped when he felt him running his tongue up Ritsuka's swollen cock. "G-god...Soubi!" He watched Soubi lick and kiss it for a moment, his eyes occasionally flickering up to meet Ritsuka's. The boy breathed hard and he sat up a little, pushing a hand into Soubi's hair as he pressed a light kiss to the tip.

Soubi seemed to take that as a sign to go on and he took him in his mouth, sucking slightly. It was almost too much for Ritsuka. Somehow, he was able to hold back from coming. He thrusted upwards, though Soubi didn't seem to mind much.

"I…Oh, god…Soubi!" He called out again, not able to say any real sentence with the man sucking on his erection. It felt wonderful. Ritsuka moaned loudly, thrusting up again and again, his member hitting the back of Soubi's throat as he sucked him hard. He tugged lightly on his hair, unable to do much else with his hands. The bed was beginning to move with Ritsuka's movements, the headboard hitting the wall slightly every so often.

Ritsuka barely noticed when Soubi pressed a finger around the area of Ritsuka's tight hole. The boy was too busy enjoying the feeling of being sucked off by Soubi to really register when the slicked finger slid in just a bit and paused before pressing lightly at the walls. His finger slid in, just a little bit every few seconds stretching him in a way that would prepare him well.

Ritsuka was saying Soubi's name over and over, his voice several octaves higher than usual. He could feel that Soubi had a finger inside of him, but he didn't really care since he was getting _this_ much pleasure.

Ritsuka could feel his climax approaching, but what set it off was Soubi finding that little bundle of nerves and pressing against it with his finger. "Soubi!" Ritsuka yelled out his name, jolting upwards and wrapping his arms tightly around him as he came violently into Soubi's mouth. Ritsuka breathed heavily, feeling him swallow the thick white liquid and then release Ritsuka. He sat up, pulling Ritsuka into his lap, drawing his finger out and then thrusting it back in again.

He let Ritsuka hold onto him tightly around the neck. He had one hand on the boy's hip and the other resting by his bottom, pulling his finger in and out, making Ritsuka cry out whenever he hit that spot.

_I remember hitting that spot when I fingered myself, but Seimei never did anything to stimulate it_. Actually, being fingered by Soubi felt better than when he had done it himself. Soubi now had two of his long fingers inside of him, doing the same thing he had done with the first. He pressed them against the walls inside of Ritsuka and scissored them. Pain sparked in Ritsuka's ass as he felt himself being stretched. He whimpered, letting Soubi know he was in a little pain.

"I'm sorry, Ritsuka," Soubi licked Ritsuka's neck apologetically, continuing the stretching even slower. Ritsuka pressed his face into Soubi's neck, feeling the soft bandages there. He briefly considered tearing them off, but forgot all about it when he felt the two fingers inside of him press against his prostate. He yelled out, trying to bring himself further down on those talented fingers.

"A-again!" Ritsuka demanded. He heard Soubi laugh quietly and he withdrew his fingers, only to quickly push them back in and hit that same spot. Ritsuka cried out, pressing his face farther into Soubi's neck. This continued for a little while longer before Soubi added a third finger.

"H-hurts!" Ritsuka couldn't help but yell out.

"Do you want to stop?" Soubi pressed his lips against Ritsuka's head, probably to distract him from the pain.

Ritsuka shook his head, getting a better grip around Soubi. He lifted his hips up a little, trying to give him more room. Soubi used the same process as he did with the other two. It hurt like hell, but the pain started to subdue soon. Ritsuka was erect again and he pressed himself hard against Soubi's chest. He blushed, realizing he could feel the man's own arousal beneath him.

"I love you," Soubi said, his fingers touching that sensitive spot deep within Ritsuka. Ritsuka gasped and tried again to thrust himself down on his fingers. He found himself being lifted, though, and set back down on the bed.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Soubi asked again, straddling Ritsuka.

"Yes," Ritsuka breathed. He wondered if it would feel differently than when Seimei had sex with him. Soubi was unlike him, so gentle and loving, so it had to feel different.

Ritsuka watched Soubi through half-closed eyes as he leaned back and took off his pants and undergarments. Ritsuka blushed furiously, unable to keep himself from staring at his big erection and wondering if it would fit. Soubi leaned forward and kissed Ritsuka on the lips. Ritsuka wrapped his arms around his neck, pulling him down closer to him.

This could be their last chance together. This could be the very last night they could bond. Ritsuka knew it and Soubi obviously knew, too. Seimei was going to try to tear them apart. There was no doubt about it. Ritsuka didn't want to leave Soubi, but Seimei may succeed in taking him away again. He honestly didn't want to put Soubi in danger, either. Even if he would never see Soubi again, Ritsuka would remember this night for the rest of his life.

When Soubi pulled away, he looked straight into Ritsuka's eyes for a long moment. He broke the shared look and nuzzled the boy's neck lovingly. Ritsuka ran his hands through Soubi's hair, wanting this night to last forever. He wondered if Soubi was thinking the same things he was.

Finally, Soubi broke the passionate embrace and nudged Ritsuka's legs open. Ritsuka tried to relax, but found himself twitching with desire and anticipation. This was probably going to hurt, but less than when Seimei had fucked him since Ritsuka had been prepared this time.

Ritsuka let his eyes shut again as he waited. At last, when Soubi was ready, he pressed a kiss on the top of Ritsuka's head and lined himself up with the boy's tight hole. He didn't start pushing in immediately and simply let Ritsuka adjust to the feel of his cock at his entrance, which Ritsuka was glad of. It was warm, wet, and big, making Ritsuka still wonder if he would be able to take it.

"Ready?" Ritsuka's eyes snapped open at the sound of Soubi's breathy voice. He was breathing hard, just as Ritsuka was. Was he trying to keep himself from pushing roughly into Ritsuka?

"Yes," Ritsuka nodded, wrapping his legs around the older man's waist.

There was a sudden searing pain in Ritsuka's ass that flared up as soon as Soubi pushed in a little. "Ah!" Ritsuka yelled out, his nails digging into the skin of Soubi's shoulders. He felt his eyes filling with tears and he tried to keep them from falling.

"I'm sorry, Ritsuka," Soubi said again, stopping and letting Ritsuka adjust to the little he had pushed in. Ritsuka breathed heavily, but began to adjust. After a while, it actually started to feel nice.

"Stop apologizing and go on," Ritsuka murmured.

Soubi pushed in a bit more and Ritsuka moaned, despite the horrible pain, as he felt the head of his erection slip inside of him. Ritsuka dug his nails farther into Soubi's shoulders, unable to help himself. He clenched his eyes shut, the tears starting to fall as pleasure turned back into pain. Soubi kissed away the tears, his soft lips giving a little comfort from the pain.

"Soubi…It…It hurts!" Ritsuka cried, clutching onto him as tightly as possible. It felt like his insides were being torn apart. Despite this, it still felt a little less painful than his first time with Seimei, probably because of the fingering and because Soubi was using lubrication. Ritsuka didn't want him to stop, though. He was curious to see if sex could actually feel good. If anyone could make him feel pleasure, it was Soubi.

"It'll feel better soon," Soubi promised his voice a little strained. He pushed in more, still going slow. Ritsuka tried to keep his voice in, but found his attempts useless. The tears ran down his face and his ass and hips felt like they were on fire. At last, Ritsuka felt Soubi stop and opened his eyes, finding that he was all the way it.

Ritsuka looked back up, meeting Soubi's blue ones. The man pulled him against his chest and carefully switched their positions, shocking Ritsuka. He didn't like being the one dominate. He didn't want to be the one on top. It scared him. He didn't know _how_ to be the one on top.

"I…don't know…" Ritsuka started to say, staring down. He was the one straddling Soubi, the Fighter's cock fully in his ass. It was still painful, but the pain was starting to lessen. It was beginning to feel good. This was better than Ritsuka's dreams. Just the feeling of having Soubi inside of him was amazing alone.

Soubi put his hands on Ritsuka's hips, speaking to him slowly, "I know you don't want to be the one on top, but we need to go at your pace. Once you're ready, I'll take control again, if you want me to."

Ritsuka nodded. He understood what Soubi was trying to tell him. He wanted Ritsuka to take it slow so he wouldn't hurt himself. Ritsuka waited until the pain was almost gone to start moving at all. Soubi was patient, but he looked like he was holding back.

"Do you want me to start moving?" He asked, wondering how painful it was going to be if he started to move. It didn't hurt much anymore. It felt better than when Seimei had sex with him. It just felt so right, like they were meant to be lovers.

Soubi sighed, taking one of his hands off Ritsuka's hips and grasping onto the teen's hand instead. "You have no idea how much I just want to take control right now and make you scream my name in pleasure, but I'm not going to since I don't want to hurt you."

Ritsuka felt his own need throb at his words. He was excited again and he wanted to try moving. Forgetting to be cautious, he lifted his hips up, preparing to lift himself all the way up and then to push back down. Of course, he didn't know how much it hurt. Soubi stopped him before he could get very far, though, firmly holding his hips so that he could pull himself up any further.

"You're going to hurt yourself," Soubi told him firmly. He helped guide him back down by holding him by the hips. Ritsuka made a small sound of pain and pleasure. Even the small movement had hurt a bit but the motion had also felt good. His loved one inside of him…it just made Ritsuka even more aroused.

Ritsuka moved himself up and down, trying to take more of Soubi's cock every time. Soubi made quiet sounds beneath him each time Ritsuka thrusted himself on him. Ritsuka smiled slightly, wanting to make him moan more. He still didn't like being in control, but he knew Soubi would take over when Ritsuka told him to.

"I want…you to, now. Soubi…please…" Ritsuka was desperate now. He wanted Soubi to hit that spot that he had found with his fingers. He wanted his blonde lover to take control, to make him his. He needed to feel him deep inside of him, filling him up, completing their bond.

"Yes, Ritsuka," Soubi smiled kindly at him and pulled him down against his chest. Ritsuka tried to say something, but was silenced by Soubi kissing him as he switched their positions again.

Ritsuka felt better on the bottom. If he was on the top, he was afraid that he was going to mess up or do something stupid. He didn't know how to make it feel good, where Soubi knew exactly where that spot was.

Soubi was the first to pull away from the kiss. He started by moving slightly, pulling out a little and thrusting back in. Ritsuka felt pleasantly full, although he was in a little pain. Soubi kept going, building up to a faster pace and going a bit deeper.

"Soubi…I…nng…" Ritsuka couldn't say anything besides Soubi's name over and over again and moans consisting of no words. Suddenly, Soubi hit the spot deep within Ritsuka that sent shivers up Ritsuka's spine and reduced him to a shaking mess. "Soubi!" He screamed, begging for him to hit that spot again. He whimpered, shaking as he wrapped his legs around Soubi's waist again.

"Found it," Soubi muttered, picking up his pace even more. He pulled almost all the way out and slammed back in, hitting Ritsuka's spot dead-on. Ritsuka yelled out again, feelings of pleasure taking over his entire being. He was in a state of complete bliss.

Soubi reached between them, taking Ritsuka's twitching erection in his hand. He pumped him in time with his thrusting, which had gotten up to full speed. The headboard hit the wall every time he slammed into the boy, Ritsuka's pleasured screams and Soubi's loud moaning filling the room. Ritsuka was now bringing his hips upwards, meeting Soubi's thrusts perfectly.

"Ritsuka… you're so tight…I love you," Soubi pressed himself against Ritsuka, nuzzling his neck again. Ritsuka loved this. They fit so nicely together, almost like the puzzles Ritsuka used to do when he was younger. He loved to see and feel Soubi like this, his hair falling onto Ritsuka's body, a slight red color to his face, his hot, sweaty naked body moving against Ritsuka's…it was all just so wonderful.

Ritsuka tangled his hands in Soubi's hair, grasping onto the blonde strands as if his life depended on it. "I love you- Ah! Soubi!" Ritsuka's back arched off the bed as Soubi hit that spot again and pumped Ritsuka particularly hard. The boy cried out again as he came into Soubi's hand, his insides clenching around the cock inside of him.

"God…Ritsuka…!" It only took another thrust or two for Soubi to fill Ritsuka with his hot seed. They both breathed hard, Ritsuka feeling like he could fall asleep any second after his bone-shattering orgasm and the exhilarating sex. Soubi collapsed on top of Ritsuka, pushing his face into the boy's black hair.

Ritsuka was suddenly grinning like an idiot. This night had been the night of his dreams, something he would never let go of. He felt happy that he could share the physical and emotional closeness with Soubi at least once before they would have to split up again. Even though he didn't want it to, deep down in his heart, Ritsuka knew that they may have to.

"Hey, Soubi," Ritsuka tugged slightly at the man's hair, worried that he had already fallen asleep. His response was a small lick at the sensitive spot behind his ear. "Could you please get off? You're sort of heavy…"

Ritsuka could see Soubi's smile as he pulled out of Ritsuka and rolled to the side of him, staying very close. He unmade the bed and pulled Ritsuka under the sheets with him, trapping the warmth between them. Soubi reached out with both hands, grabbing onto Ritsuka's fake ears. "Can these come off now?" He asked. Ritsuka nodded, placing his hands on top of Soubi's. They lifted the light headband off Ritsuka's head and Soubi deposited it on the bedside table.

"I love you," Ritsuka snuggled close to Soubi, whispering the words.

"I love you," Soubi repeated back to him, making Ritsuka smile again. He put his arms around the boy, hugging him close to him. The two lovers fell asleep in each other's arms, both knowing that this couldn't last forever, but both wanting it to.

* * *

**Long Sex scene is looooong**

**Review, please!**

**~Wolfie  
**


	25. Day 038

**Day 038**

For the first time since Ritsuka's disappearance, maybe even before that, Soubi slept very well. He didn't dream, even though he slept deeply. He awoke to little Ritsuka cuddled with him, his arms around Soubi. Soubi smiled, pulling the child closer to him and burying his nose in the silky black hair, taking his scent in. He pulled away, looking at Ritsuka's earless head and, just for a second, he missed those kitten ears. He got over it soon enough, once he took in how adorable Ritsuka was without them.

"Stop staring at me like that," Ritsuka muttered, surprising Soubi. He didn't think that Ritsuka was awake and he felt a bit bad that he had maybe woke him up.

"I'm sorry, Ritsuka," Soubi apologized, kissing Ritsuka's head.

He heard Ritsuka laugh, the sweet sound muffled by the blankets that covered half of his face. "Don't be," He pushed the covers down so that Soubi could see his smiling face. He still looked exhausted and Soubi hoped that he hadn't tired Ritsuka out _too_ much the previous night.

That night… There were no words to describe it. Ritsuka had given him full consent to do anything. Soubi had been a bit hesitant, but then Ritsuka had showed him that he really did want it. It had been an amazing night. 'Amazing' didn't even really describe it. They were really together now. A bond had formed between them, one much stronger than anything Soubi had ever felt before.

Soubi remembered the last night perfectly. Every sound Ritsuka made…the feel of his skin. He recalled every detail of his explorations of the teen's body and how he made him yell with pleasure. The boy that he had had sex with was lying here in his arms, smiling sweetly.

"I'm exhausted!" Ritsuka exclaimed, snuggling back under the covers. He didn't appear to regret anything they had done.

"Go back to sleep, then," Soubi told him, patting his head by where his ears used to be. Ritsuka made a small sound of agreement before closing his eyes. Soubi reached for his nearby sketchbook, wanting to draw Ritsuka in this relaxed, almost asleep state.

Soubi had drifted off to a light sleep while drawing and awoke to an emptiness beside him. He glanced over, finding that Ritsuka wasn't there. This worried him. He didn't like not knowing Ritsuka's whereabouts since not knowing had taken his Sacrifice away from him for thirty-seven days.

Soubi rushed, throwing the sketchbook down in the process of trying to find his glasses and pulling clothes on. Once he did, he ran into the other room, wondering if Ritsuka had gone to visit his father or maybe Kio and the Zero boys or even Nagisa. Ritsuka wasn't an idiot. He wouldn't go anywhere by himself, would he?

"I'm out on the balcony," Soubi heard Ritsuka call as he had almost reached the door going out into the hallway. Soubi looked to see Ritsuka standing out on the good-sized balcony that was set exactly opposite the front door. The boy was looking at him with the utmost curiosity and amusement.

"Sorry," Soubi apologized. He didn't know how he had missed the two French doors leading out to the balcony being wide open. He went out on the balcony with Ritsuka, wrapping his arms around his thin waist as Ritsuka turned to look out on the beach. "You know it's going to be hard for me to leave you somewhere alone from now on, right?"

Soubi didn't plan on letting Seimei take Ritsuka back, and he was going to do everything he could to stop it from happening. It was obviously going to be hard for him to leave Ritsuka with someone else, even if it was for a little while. He also knew Ritsuka needed his space, but it was going to be even harder to not know of his whereabouts. Soubi did know that Ritsuka would be safe with the people here, though, and he intended to leave the boy with Kiyoshi, Nakahira, and Kio while Soubi went out to take care of a few things.

"What are we going to do today?" Ritsuka asked, turning around to face Soubi. He had put one of Soubi's shirts on, which fell to his knees and still had on a pair of pajama pants Soubi had taken from Youji.

"Whatever you want to do. I have to go get some things in the nearest town first, though that won't take long." Soubi was a bit reluctant to tell him of what he was going to do, since he was afraid Ritsuka might reject his plan.

Ritsuka didn't ask what he was going to do. Instead, he said, "Can we go to the beach afterwards? It's a nice day today."

Soubi almost told him no, that it'd be too dangerous to go outside because of the threat of Seimei and because of the media, but he remembered what Kiyoshi said when they first checked it. No unidentified persons were allowed within a mile and no media was allowed within five. They would be perfectly safe here.

"Of course," Soubi agreed after a moment of thinking. "Are you in any pain?" He had prepared Ritsuka well and used lubrication, but Ritsuka was so small and tight that he might still we in pain afterwards.

Ritsuka rested his head on Soubi's chest, blushing a little, "No. Not at all. I'm not even tired anymore. Hey…I was thinking, will you…" Ritsuka trailed off, leaving Soubi to wonder what he was going to ask that made him so flustered.

"What is it?"

Ritsuka pulled himself out of Soubi's arms and tugged him back inside by the hand. "Let's take a bath together," He said, not looking at Soubi. The older man laughed, seeing that his face was completely red in color.

"Alright, Ritsuka," Soubi told him, trying his hardest not to smile at Ritsuka's shyness.

Not long after, Soubi found himself in the bath with little Ritsuka. The boy sat between his legs, his back pressed against Soubi's chest. He leaned back, resting his head on Soubi's shoulder and sighing happily. Soubi leaned down, pressing his lips against the nape of Ritsuka's neck, wondering how he would react.

"No, not here," Ritsuka told him quietly, not opening his eyes but gently pushing him away. "The water will get all gross," He explained before Soubi had the chance to get confused.

Even without his ears, Ritsuka still didn't seem like an adult. Of course, Soubi never really thought that losing your ears made someone an automatic 'adult', but Ritsuka had always seemed to. He remembered the teen's first observation about him; that Soubi was an adult because he had lost his ears. Did Ritsuka still think that way? Up until Seimei had raped Ritsuka, he still retained his ears. Had Ritsuka thought of him as an adult? Then there was that guy- Nakahira- who was Ritsuka's caretaker. He was still a virgin, too, even though he looked to be Soubi's age.

Soubi pushed all these thoughts aside. He would ask Ritsuka later, but not now. He just wanted to hold Ritsuka close to him for awhile without having to think or worry about anything else. Soubi would leave Ritsuka with his father and the others, and when he returned he would take Ritsuka down to the beach. Today was not the day to worry, it was a day to savor every free moment he had with Ritsuka before the tension with Seimei started to build up. As Kiyoshi had said, these next few days were going to be for Ritsuka to relax and adjust to being with them and not Seimei.

Soubi questioned just how well Ritsuka was adjusting. He seemed to hate Seimei. Actually, there was no doubt that he did hate Seimei from the way he talked about him and from how he acted about the locket.

"Can I wash your hair?" Ritsuka innocent, hopeful voice broke Soubi out of his trance.

From what Soubi observed, Ritsuka really wasn't different. He was still the same innocent, naïve child that he was before he had gotten taken. He still cared about others more than himself, and still hated to see others get hurt. Ritsuka was obviously traumatized by Seimei, but he had still been able to keep his personality mostly the same. Ritsuka really was a strong kid.

"If you want to," Soubi leaned further down, giving Ritsuka better access to his hair. He immediately felt Ritsuka running his fingers through it, brushing against his neck and collarbone. He loved the touch of Ritsuka's fingertips against his skin. He thought again of how Seimei and he couldn't be related since they were so different. Seimei's hands were cruel and rough, used to hurt Soubi. Ritsuka's were kind and gentle, used to comfort Soubi.

After they had both finished washing, they sat together in the warm water. Ritsuka was smiling and had his head on Soubi's shoulder again, while Soubi was stroking his wet hair when the boy suddenly gasped. He reached up, pressing the pads of his fingers against the side of Soubi's neck. His eyes were wide and he looked like he wanted to say something but was too shocked too. He didn't have to since Soubi knew what he was so shocked at.

"It's fading," Soubi confirmed, surprised that Ritsuka hadn't noticed earlier. Ritsuka lightly traced something in place of the missing English letters, even going over the ones that were still there. At first Soubi thought that he was tracing 'Beloved' but soon realized that it was 'Loveless' instead. Soubi grasped his hand when he was done, kissing his fingers in happiness and looking into Ritsuka's confused eyes.

"What…? How…?" Ritsuka started to ask, though he never finished either question.

"I'm not sure," Soubi confessed. "I didn't even know it was possible." It was because of Ritsuka. Soubi didn't quite know _how_ Ritsuka caused Soubi's and Seimei's bonds to break, but he done it. Soubi didn't belong to anybody now. He could stay with Ritsuka and disobey Seimei. He could fight for Ritsuka without going against his name.

Ritsuka seemed to want to say something else, but Soubi spoke before him, "Let's get out, now. I think your father would like to see you while I'm gone."

* * *

Ritsuka nervously stepped out of his and Soubi's hotel room and made his way the short distance to Kiyoshi and Nakahira's room. Soubi had left a few minutes ago, kissing Ritsuka lightly on the lips before he did. Ritsuka had insisted that he take Kio with him, since he didn't want him going alone. He had told Soubi to be careful, but he didn't pry where he was going. Soubi would tell him later. It had to be for a good reason, anyways.

Ritsuka finally got the courage to knock on the door. His father answered the door, looking like he had just gotten up. He looked down at Ritsuka, the cross, annoyed look on his face fading as he registered that it was his son. Instead, a smile took its place.

"Soubi already left? Come in," Kiyoshi ushered him in and Ritsuka saw the Zero boys causing havoc on Chouma and Nakahira, who were also in the apartment-sized suite.

"He left a couple of minutes ago," Ritsuka told Kiyoshi quietly, glancing around the main room. It too had a nice-sized kitchenette. It had high ceilings and two floors, a staircase leading up to the loft. It looked to have two bedrooms up there, not including the pull-out couch on the landing. Ritsuka wondered if it had a balcony he could sit on and wait for Soubi to come back.

"It's Loveless!" Youji yelled, starting to jump at him from where he was on the couch. Chouma was standing behind him and yanked him backwards by the hair, pulling him back on the couch before he could get very far. She gave a small wave towards Ritsuka, shocking him at how well she looked.

Ritsuka had always thought of her as a sickly person. She always wore the bandages around her head, hinting that it was from a severe injury that she'd had a couple months back. She also had some sort of perpetual cough that only worsened at night. She often mentioned to Nakahira about back and neck pain. He would always tell her to lay down when she was in pain, but she usually refused. Ritsuka had seen this a lot in the ten days between Seimei raping him for the second time and the attack.

Now, though, she had her hair down and her skin looked a healthier tone than its usual pale color. She had glasses on, which only reminding Ritsuka more of her brother, and her eyes seemed to be brighter. She moved fluently as she headed over to Nakahira, who was in the kitchen.

Natsou and Youji were as bouncy as ever. They romped on the floor, tackling each other over some handheld game one of them had.

Nakahira and Chouma both also looked as if they had just woken up. They were both still in their night-clothes and they smiled at each other in a secretive way that made Ritsuka wonder about the true nature of their relationship.

"Ritsuka," Kiyoshi put a hand on the boy's shoulder, speaking in a low voice to him. "Can we talk?"

Ritsuka glanced up at, tearing his eyes away from everybody else. He hadn't really wanted to talk with his father. He had been planning on sitting alone or even hanging around with Natsou and Youji, but those plans were ruined now. It seemed that he wouldn't be able to avoid conflict with his father. He gave him a small nod and let him lead him up the stairs to a room.

"You're not wearing your fake ears today," Kiyoshi pointed out to him as he shut the door. They were in a bedroom with a double bed, a balcony, a bookcase, and a dresser. Ritsuka assumed it was Kiyoshi's room.

Ritsuka found himself blushing at his father's comment, unable to say anything except for, "Yeah…"

Kiyoshi smiled at him, amused. "The walls are actually quite thin here…"

Ritsuka caught his subtlety and his head snapped up, freezing in the middle of looking at the books in the bookcase. He turned around, shock and extremely embarrassed, "You _heard_ us?"

"Well, your room is right next to ours, so yes," Kiyoshi told him sheepishly. "And Kio and Natsou and Youji had to stay here, so…"

_God that's embarrassing. _He turned his attention back to the books in the bookcase, unable to hide his mortification. Kiyoshi was silent for a long time and Ritsuka could feel his gaze on him.

"It's time you know the truth, Ritsuka," Kiyoshi's voice was more serious. He motioned for Ritsuka to sit on the bed by him, which Ritsuka did hesitantly. He looked at the ground as he sat a safe distance away from Kiyoshi, still confused on his opinion of his father. _This would be a lot easier if Soubi had came with me._

"Soubi had to go take care of some things, but I'm sure that if he was here he would help you sort out your confusion." Ritsuka abruptly looked up at his father in shock. He had just responded to something Ritsuka had _thought_, not _said_. It scared him. He jumped off the bed quickly, backing up to the corner.

Kiyoshi had said it so absentmindedly, as if it was normal for him to respond to someone's thoughts. It made Ritsuka think. Did he know about the whole Fighter Sacrifice world? How could he not? He had been on a trip with Soubi, so there was no way that he couldn't. And if he wasn't, wouldn't he have problems with Ritsuka having sex with a man eight years his senior?

"I'm sorry, Ritsuka," Kiyoshi took a step towards him, but didn't come any closer. Ritsuka pushed himself as far into the corner as possible, his father scaring him and making him want to run. "I shouldn't have done that. It's a bit second nature for me. I'm sorry that I scared you." He tried to approach Ritsuka slowly.

_Don't come any closer to me!_ Kiyoshi stopped as if hearing Ritsuka's thoughts clearly. Ritsuka prepared himself to run, confused and scared that his dad seemed to know what he was thinking. He wanted time to think about this and how he felt about Kiyoshi. He wanted to run back to the room Soubi and Ritsuka shared and wait for Soubi to come back.

"Don't run," Kiyoshi sounded almost desperate. "Please…I wasn't planning on scaring you like that. It's time that you know that I'm a Fighter."

At that point, Ritsuka nearly bolted, but something made him stay. He was terrified and he really didn't understand why. He wished that he hadn't agreed to talk with his father or that at least he had persuaded Soubi to stay.

"I was a part of Septimal Moon," Kiyoshi went on almost cautiously. "When Misaki gave birth to Seimei, I quit. I started sensing something was wrong with Seimei a year or two before you were born. He seemed almost… I'm not sure how to explain it, but he was very strange. He never really needed us to take care of him. He was strangely good at school and he never acted out. He never talked to anybody. He never seemed to have any friends, though he was very popular. As for us…it was almost like he despised us."

Ritsuka's gaze softened and he let down his guard as he listened to his father talk.

Kiyoshi went on, "As he grew older, there were unexplained instances of violence in the schools. These persisted and your mother and I decided to have you to see if he would calm down. We both knew it was him doing it. Your mother was sane back then and actually a very intelligent woman. She said that if we had another baby, Seimei might experience some sort of love for it. We had you and things started to calm down quite a bit. Seimei spent a lot of time with you, but as you grew up, you didn't like being around your older brother so much."

"No," Ritsuka interrupted, his voice shaking a little. "I used to love being around Seimei-"

"After you lost your memory you did," Kiyoshi cut in. "Before then it was a different story. I joined back up with Septimal Moon when you were eight or so, but I didn't say anything of Seimei's odd behavior. You were normal. You had lots of friend and you didn't do exceptionally well in school, but you didn't fail, either. You and Seimei started having arguments when you were about seven. He always wanted you to be around him, but you wanted to be with your friends.

"You yelled at him a lot and he usually just quietly reasoned with you. He lost his temper sometimes, though, and even got physical with you a couple times. Misaki told me of one time that she heard you agree to spend the day with Seimei and then she walked in on him pinning you to the bed and kissing you. She didn't know what to do with Seimei. Neither did I. You were our good kid, the one who was normal. You got into some trouble at school, but not a lot. You had average grades, but you had lots of friends. You were our prefect child."

Ritsuka thought this over for a moment. "Is that why Mom went crazy when I lost my memory?"

Kiyoshi shook his head, "I don't think so. We're getting there. Anyways, we tried to get Seimei to be more normal but he didn't want anything to do with us. He started spending more and more time locked up in his room, not speaking to anyone but you. At one point, your mother even suggested we take the lock off of his door, but I thought that would turn out even worse.

"When you turned ten, your fighting with Seimei really escalated. You two started arguing more and more. There was a lot of yelling from you that you didn't approve of what Seimei was doing. We both assumed that you knew what Seimei was up to and you didn't like it but couldn't tell anybody. We agreed that we were going to ask you, but that night you and Seimei got into a huge fight. He took you into his room without our knowledge and the next thing we heard was you screaming for help. He had gotten extremely violent with you for reasons neither of us knew. I had to physically pull Seimei off of you.

"That night your mom and I talked about what we were going to do. Seimei had mood swings that were to the extreme and a very, very bad temper. We were trying to decide what to do with him after you and Seimei had gone to bed when we heard Seimei scream for help from outside. It was winter, and I'll never forget the sight of you laying unconscious in the snow with blood all around you. Seimei was leaning over you, looking very distressed. Another thing I'll never forget is the slight smirk on his face as your mother burst out in tears as he leaned over you."

This was all too much. First the truth about his father, and now Kiyoshi was implicating that Seimei had something to do with Ritsuka's memory loss? It was just too much to handle for the moment. He wanted Soubi. He wanted him to be here with him to comfort him.

"…Did he do it?" Ritsuka asked quietly.

Kiyoshi came towards him a little more, but not enough to invade Ritsuka's personal space. Ritsuka cast his gaze to the ground, unable to meet his father's eyes. "I think so, Ritsuka," Kiyoshi said softly. "He insisted that he was the first person who saw you when you woke up. He was very kind with you and you took and immediate liking to him. Your mother…your mother was sad at first that you had a new personality, but she said that you were still our son. She was going to see you for the first time in the hospital, but Seimei said that he wanted to talk to her. She came out acting a little different and then when you spoke to her for the first time, she just freaked out. She was never the same after that…"

Ritsuka felt the usual pang of guilt at his mother going insane because of him. Was it truly his fault or had Seimei done something to her? Ritsuka had heard talk of Seimei's 'powers' but he had never really found out what they were. To make someone lose their memory or to manipulate someone's mind…those _had _to be the work of spells, not Seimei's abilities. But that meant that a Fighter would have to have cast it. Seimei's Fighter at that point was…Soubi.

"Soubi…" Ritsuka whispered, still looking at the floor. _Did he hurt me two years ago? Was he the one who took away my memories?_

"No, Ritsuka," Kiyoshi's voice was firm, telling him that it wasn't Soubi who did it. Ritsuka noticed again how his father seemed able to look into his mind and pull out thoughts. "I don't think Soubi did it. At least, I don't think that he remembers if he did it."

"How do you know?" Ritsuka could feel the tears of frustration coming, but his voice held steady. He looked up into his father's violet eyes that were so like his own and like Seimei's, also. They all shared the same eye color, even though Seimei's was darkened by malice and wicked thoughts.

"I had to put up with him for over a month," Kiyoshi sighed. "I know that he would be overridden with guilt if he had done that to you and remembered it, especially now that we've rescued you. He loves you. If he knew that he did it, he would also know that it's why Misaki beat you. He can connect the two together, and would've concluded that it was his fault that you were getting hurt. He would've told you if it was his fault."

The tears were running down Ritsuka's face, now. Kiyoshi tried to come towards him, but Ritsuka ran before he could touch him. He bolted down the stairs and back into his and Soubi's room, collapsing on the bed, sobs of frustration wracking his body.

* * *

When Soubi entered their room with Kio, he found Ritsuka's new friends inside. The door to the bedroom was shut, telling Soubi that Ritsuka was probably asleep.

"He's in the bedroom," Nakahira told Soubi, pointing at the closed door. "He said his head hurt so I told him to go lie down. I think you should talk to him."

Soubi nodded, placing the plastic bags he carried on the counter and headed into the bedroom, leaving Kio and the others in the living room. Ritsuka was curled in a ball on top the covers of the made bed, covering his eyes from the musky light that came through the windows. It had started to rain and the sound made a soothing rhythm as it hit.

Soubi stepped in, quietly closing the door behind him. He closed the curtains, making the room significantly darker. Ritsuka stirred a little.

"Thanks, Naka-" Ritsuka glanced up, stopping himself. He smiled happily at seeing Soubi, but that wonderful smile was soon gone.

Soubi sat beside him on the bed, grabbing Ritsuka and pulling him into his arms. Ritsuka seemed a bit surprised, but he wrapped his arms around Soubi and rested his head on his chest. Something was surely wrong.

"You're back," Ritsuka smiled a little again, holding onto Soubi tightly. "I'm not feeling so well…"

"I know," Soubi stroked his hair, pressing a kiss to his head. Ritsuka looked sad and confused, but happy that Soubi had returned. "Do you want to talk about it?" All Soubi wanted to do was comfort Ritsuka. He must've gone to talk to Kiyoshi. Soubi wondered if they had made up at all.

Ritsuka shook his head, burying his face in Soubi's chest. "Not now. I just want to lay here with you and not think about anything…" His voice was muffled and it shook a little.

_I don't want him to cry_. Soubi moved so that he could cradle Ritsuka in his arms easier. He started talking about how he would take Ritsuka to the beach when the rain let up. Ritsuka eventually began talking, too. The longer they talked, the happier Ritsuka got and the more he seemed to forget about whatever he had heard.

"Soubi…look…" Soubi opened his eyes many hours later, his vision blurry as he struggled to focus on something. Before Ritsuka's voice had drawn him out of his half-sleep, he had taken his glasses off and was grasping onto Ritsuka's hand. The boy lay opposite him, facing him, with his fingers intertwined with Soubi's. Neither of them had changed into night clothes, nor had they even covered up with a blanket.

Soubi finally focused on the swirling silvery piano cords circling around them. Their bonds. Ritsuka's string led off somewhere else, while Soubi's just cut off, but Ritsuka didn't seem to be focused on that. What he was staring at was the end of Soubi's cord, which was wrapping itself around Ritsuka's. They both understood what it meant. They had broken the rules and defied fate. They had forged a bond together. It wasn't what fate had intended, but it was there and it would never be broken.

"We're connected now," Ritsuka whispered, looking at the place where their threads met and twisted together. Soubi looked on in wonder. He wasn't just a spare anymore. He was Ritsuka's. He was bonded to Ritsuka. He didn't quite understand how it happened, but he couldn't express his happiness that it did.

Ritsuka went on, still whispering, "Ai and Midori told me that when I see your thread, that's when I'll fully understand you…"

Soubi leaned in, pressing his lips against young Ritsuka's. It was a quick kiss, but meaningful. "I guess you do, now."

* * *

**Sorry for the long chapter (again)**

**Review for the next chapter!**

**~Wolfie  
**


	26. Day 039

**Day 039**

Early the next morning, Soubi let himself into Kiyoshi and the others' room, demanding to know what happened. Ritsuka was with him, but Soubi left him with the Zero boys while he went to talk to Kiyoshi alone.

"I told him the truth about Seimei," Kiyoshi stated as he and Soubi stood out on the balcony. Soubi leaned on the railing, looking out at the beach and wondering if Seimei was even still alive. "I told him about his past and how he lost his memories."

This caught Soubi's attention. He had always wondered why Ritsuka had lost all his memories at age ten. He had always suspected that it was Seimei's, but he never talked to Ritsuka about it since it would just upset him. "How did he lose his memories?" Soubi asked, curious to know.

All it took was one word to confirm Soubi's suspicions; "Seimei."

* * *

As soon as Soubi went upstairs with Kiyoshi, Natsou and Youji were antagonizing Ritsuka. Ritsuka frowned, hoping Soubi would realize that he left him _alone_ with these two. Natsou and Youji were both silently staring at him with predator smiles.

"Hey, Ritsuka," Youji giggled mischievously. "You're neck is all bruised."

Ritsuka blushed, letting his guard down and trying to cover the hickeys with his hand. He hadn't really _wanted_ to cover them, since it was proof that Soubi loved him, but these two would never let him live it down.

Youji suddenly leapt at him, knocking Ritsuka to the ground. Ritsuka let out a straggled yelp as he crashed, his already sore back making rough contact with the floor. "Get off of me, Youji!" He yelled, trying to fight the boy off of him. Natsou was kneeling behind Ritsuka's head. He grabbed onto Ritsuka's arms, pinning them above his head. Ritsuka tried to kick Youji, but the other boy was straddling his chest.

"Oh, look, Natsou!" Youji leaned forward, pulling down the collar of the oversized shirt of Soubi's Ritsuka was wearing. He grinned at the hickeys there, his eyes glinting. "He has hickeys!"

"They're really dark," Natsou commented, leaning forward too. Ritsuka still struggled against the two of them, a deep scowl on his face.

"Get off of me you jerks!" Ritsuka yelled, his voice very high pitched and heavy with anger. "Sou-!" One of Natsou's hands covered Ritsuka's mouth, stopping him from saying Soubi's full name. Ritsuka bit down on the hand, forgetting for a moment that Natsou couldn't feel pain.

"You sure yell loud, Ritsuka," Youji laughed again. "We could hear you screaming Soubi's name when we first got here. Then we heard the headboard slamming against the wall and Soubi moaning. That must've been where you got these hickeys…" The two teenagers looked at each other and Ritsuka suddenly felt terrified of what they were going to do to him.

"Mpff…Mmmmphhff!" Ritsuka gave up on trying to talk and yell for Soubi and instead began struggling. He kicked, knowing that Youji couldn't feel it, but still thinking it would repel him off.

Youji leaned down, biting Ritsuka's neck harshly. Ritsuka cried out, bad memories of being bit like that by Seimei flooding his brain.

"We should give you a few more hickeys to cover up that pervert's." There was that evil grin on Youji's face again, one that almost reminded him of Seimei. Ritsuka shut his eyes tightly, trying to get the image of Seimei raping him out of his mind. Youji's advances stopped immediately and he sat up on top of Ritsuka.

"Ritsuka…? What's- Holy fuck!" Youji was violently pulled off of Ritsuka and Natsou let go of him with a sound of surprise. Ritsuka opened his eyes a little to see Soubi holding Youji against the wall, his hands pinning the boy up against the wall.

Ritsuka scrambled up, sitting up and panicking a little. "Let him go, Soubi!" Ritsuka told him, running to him and pulling at his shirt. "He was just playing around!" Soubi's expression was scaring him. It was as if he thought that Youji had really been attacking Ritsuka. Kiyoshi was rushing towards them, too, and Ritsuka was now tugging hard at Soubi's shirt.

"Stop!" Ritsuka demanded, starting to panic a little. Soubi looked into his eyes, his eyes going wide as he dropped Youji. The other boy fell to the ground, staring at Soubi in fear. Ritsuka grabbed Soubi's wrist pulling the now dumbfounded man out the door and into the safety of their room.

Soubi collapsed onto the couch, lying on his back and covering his eyes from Ritsuka. _Something must have happened_, Ritsuka thought to himself. _He wouldn't usually freak out like that. Something must've happened. _

Ritsuka rested his hand on Soubi's head, running his fingers through his hair and hoping it would offer some sort of comfort. He leaned down and whispered softly in his pierced ear, "I love you. Tell me what's wrong."

'I love you' felt very odd coming from Ritsuka's mouth. It was still how Ritsuka felt, though, and he felt that it might calm Soubi down a little. He wanted to know what made him act the way he did. Ritsuka really wasn't mad, just concerned.

"It's nothing, Ritsuka…" Was Soubi's mumbled reply.

"It's not nothing," Ritsuka pouted a little. He really just wanted Soubi to tell him how he felt. What was the point in keeping it from him if Ritsuka knew that something was wrong? They were connected now. The bond they shared was stronger than a normal married couple's. Ritsuka could feel that Soubi was distressed about something and that had made him lose control when he saw Ritsuka on the floor with Youji grinning down at him like he had been. Had he been thinking that that smile reminded him very much of Seimei, too?

"Ritsuka… Your memories…" Soubi stopped covering his eyes and looked up at Ritsuka sadly. "Your father told me about how you had hated Seimei before you lost your memories and about how he was almost positive that Seimei did something to you and your mother both. I'm afraid," Soubi's voice quivered, something Ritsuka had rarely heard it do. He paused for a moment, regaining his composure, before going on. "That I may have erased your memories."

"You may have?" Ritsuka repeated. He wasn't afraid. Soubi would never do anything on purpose to hurt him. This was before they had met, anyways.

Soubi sat up, pulling Ritsuka into his lap, probably to keep him from running away, which Ritsuka had no intentions of doing. "I don't remember," Soubi said in a soft voice. "From what I've observed, Seimei has always planned to be able to drop everything and fake his death if anything sudden ever came up, such as the warrant for his arrest and execution. He always knew that he would be leaving you with me, or rather me with you. You would need a caretaker, and I wouldn't be able to properly take care of you if I felt the guilt of having taken your memories away."

Ritsuka put his arms around him, truly not caring whether or not Soubi did it. He was here with him now and that was all that mattered.

"He would've had me take my own memories of that away," Soubi explained further. "That way I wouldn't feel any guilt towards doing it. I'm sorry, Ritsuka…"

"Why?" Soubi wasn't looking at Ritsuka again and his voice was depressed. Ritsuka rested his head against his chest so that he could hear his heartbeat. "You've done nothing wrong. Don't be sorry. I forgot to ask you," Ritsuka added, wanting to change the subject. "What'd you do when you went away yesterday?"

Instead of an answer, Ritsuka got a kiss on the lips. Soubi held onto Ritsuka's hand, holding it tightly within his own. Ritsuka leaned into the kiss, blushing bright red. Soubi still took his breath away whenever he did this. Ritsuka loved kissing his soft, talented lips and running his fingers through his hair.

Ritsuka was the one to pull away first, falling back against the armrest of the couch with his feet still in Soubi's lap. He breathed hard, closing his eyes half-way, still blushing.

"Are you okay now?" He asked once he had caught his breath. "Why'd you lash out at Youji like that?"

"I'm honestly not sure," Soubi told him sincerely. "I didn't really even realize that I was doing it. I guess I should go apologize to the little brat," He said with a slight smile. He got up, leaving Ritsuka on the couch.

Ritsuka watched him go over to the counter and take something out of the plastic bag that had been there since Soubi had gotten back the day before. He closed his eyes, listening to the patter of the rain outside, note even hearing Soubi come back and place something around his neck.

Ritsuka's eyes flew open and he started to yank at the thing, scared to death that it was Seimei's damn locket. He stopped when he felt that it was fabric he was pulling at and not a chain. He held up the thing that was attached to the lanyard, finding himself looking at an upgraded version of his old cell phone. Soubi was observing him with an amused look on his face, probably because of Ritsuka's little panic attack.

"A phone…?" Ritsuka flipped it open, looking at his butterfly wallpaper and finding that Soubi had put in a bunch of numbers in the contacts menu, including his, Yuiko's, his father's, Nakahira's, Chouma's. He found that Soubi had also put the numbers of the three Septimal Moon members that Ritsuka knew in it, too. Ritsuka gasped, suddenly remembering a question he had been meaning to ask Soubi. "Who are the other three members of Septimal Moon? Why haven't I met them?"

Soubi could tell him now. He didn't even tense as he spoke, "Two of them are presumably dead. You have met the other one. It's Kio's sister, Chouma."

"Really?" Ritsuka was amazed. He had never expected her to be on the council. "I didn't-!"

A rapping at the door interrupted Ritsuka. Soubi met Ritsuka's eyes before going to answer it. Ritsuka's mood fell when he saw his father at the door.

"Can I talk to Ritsuka?" He asked Soubi. Ritsuka willed him to say no, but when Soubi glanced back at Ritsuka, he couldn't bring himself to shake his head.

"I'm going to go talk to Natsou and Youji," Soubi told Ritsuka cautiously. He waited for Ritsuka to object, but Ritsuka didn't say anything. He wanted Soubi to stay with him, to hold him while Kiyoshi brought up painful memories, but he knew that Soubi couldn't spend all his time with him.

"Okay," Ritsuka said softly. "Be careful." Soubi held his gaze for a moment before nodding and heading out past Kiyoshi. Ritsuka's father shut the door and Ritsuka closed his eyes, waiting for his father to say something. He could feel his father's gaze on him, watching him intensely. He didn't like being stared at like that.

He tried to imagine Soubi with him, holding his hand and telling him everything was going to be alright. Soubi wouldn't let Kiyoshi do anything to him. He wouldn't let the older man say anything that would hurt Ritsuka. Of course, Soubi had to go apologize to Youji after attacking him, though. As Kiyoshi had said the walls were thin, so Soubi could hear him if Ritsuka were to yell for him.

"Come here, you two little brats!" Kiyoshi and Ritsuka could both hear Soubi yelling at the Zero boys all the way from the next room.

There was some crashing around and then Natsou and Youji's unison yell of, "He's going to kill us!" Which was followed by a burst of maniac laugher and more crashing around.

"Don't run from me when I'm trying to talk to you two!" Ritsuka tried not to, but he smiled at Soubi yelling at Natsou and Youji. He heard Kiyoshi laugh, too, and Ritsuka felt the tension lessen a little.

"Ritsuka…" Kiyoshi started, coming to sit on the couch next to Ritsuka's feet. "I'm sorry about scaring you yesterday. I never meant to. I honestly tried to block out your thoughts, but you're a child and you don't know how to guard yourself like Soubi does sometimes when he's around me."

He was confusing, but he didn't scare Ritsuka again. Ritsuka didn't feel the need to run as he had last time. He still wasn't sure about how he felt about his father, but he felt better about talking to him now.

"Block out my thoughts?" Ritsuka opened his eyes to peer at him curiously. The previous day, Kiyoshi had been able to read Ritsuka's thoughts extremely easily, which was obvious since he had responded to them.

Kiyoshi spoke slowly, but not in a way that made Ritsuka feel dumb, "My true name is Thoughtless. My Sacrifice died a very long time ago. I assume that you know that every true name has a power, right?"

Ritsuka nodded, the truth beginning to become clear. He thought about his own wretched name, Loveless, for a moment. What was his power? Would he be able to share it with Soubi now that they were connected? Actually, the bigger question was: is Soubi now Loveless or is he nameless? Would the name Loveless show up somewhere on him?

"My power," Kiyoshi continued. "Is that I can read people's thoughts. Soubi got extremely annoyed with me whenever I did it to him. He never censored his thoughts, but he was able to block me from time to time. I've adapted to where I'm able to not read the thoughts when I don't want to. Even though I can do that, when I'm alone with a child like you, I can hear your thoughts as clearly as though you were speaking them to me"

It surprised Ritsuka that his father could read his thoughts so clearly and still be able to hide it so well. It seemed like a useful ability to have, but Ritsuka could see how it might get annoying or overwhelming to be able to read everyone's thoughts, especially in a crowded room. His father may also be able to hear some secrets that weren't meant to be told, either.

"Is it restricted _just_ to thoughts?" Ritsuka questioned further, suddenly very interested in what his father had to say.

Kiyoshi shook his head, "No. I can tell a person's feelings and I can also look into some of their memories. I can tell what a person's subconscious is thinking, too. If I'm alone with someone and if I want to, I can tell almost everything about them."

Then it dawned on Ritsuka. He sat up suddenly, and his voice took on an almost desperate tone to it, "My memories. Can you recover them? Can you read them?"

Seimei took Ritsuka's memories. Actually, Ritsuka was nearly positive that _Soubi_ took Ritsuka's memories, but he wasn't at fault. Seimei was. Seimei gave the order. Seimei wanted it to happen. Soubi only took care of the physical part of it. No, Ritsuka wasn't mad at Soubi. What more could Soubi do once Seimei had given the order? There was no way to disobey him. It wasn't like Soubi had wanted to do it. They hadn't even known each other, then.

Seimei had taken Ritsuka's memories from him. There had to have been some reason other than because Ritsuka didn't like him. He could've easily wooed Ritsuka into liking him. Ritsuka had done something. He had known something.

_What did I know that made Seimei have to take away my memories?_ It had to have been something to do with Seimei's plans. Kiyoshi had said that Ritsuka often yelled about not agreeing with them, so he must've known something. Had he known that he was a Sacrifice? What were Seimei's plans? _If I remember them will it help us now?_

"No, Ritsuka," Kiyoshi said after a moment or so. "I can't I've tried so many times before. When you first lost your memories I would go into your hospital room and try whenever Seimei wasn't there. I could never do it. I tried to read Seimei's, too, but I could never even get into his thoughts. He was the only person who could block me all the time like that. He carried this aura around that was cold and crushing. Whenever I would try to get into his head I would have to lock myself in the bedroom and sleep off my migraine."

Ritsuka was once again speechless. Seimei had known. He had known about everything and he had destroyed everything in his way. Ritsuka's memories, Kiyoshi's ability to get into people's heads… Seimei had manipulated those two things to bend to his liking. Seimei seemed invincible, as if he had no weaknesses. There _had _to be something they could do to defeat, and hopefully kill, him.

"I'm so sorry," Kiyoshi drew Ritsuka out of his thoughts with the sad tone in his voice. Ritsuka glanced up at him, a questioning expression set on his face. "I've been such a horrible father to you."

Ritsuka couldn't argue that _before_ all this had happened Kiyoshi had been a horrible father to him. He had ignored him and left him in the hands of his abusive mother. He had almost never come home, leaving Ritsuka to fend for himself. Soubi had been the person who had taken care of him, taken him places, and helped him with homework, all things that Kiyoshi should've been doing.

_Before _he had been a horrible parent, but now, now Kiyoshi was stepping up a little. He had gone looking for Ritsuka with Soubi. They had been a team who both had the same goals, even though Ritsuka knew Soubi had hated Kiyoshi. For more than a long month they had both put up with each other just so that they could find Ritsuka. It wasn't something Ritsuka had ever dreamed of his father doing for him.

For as long as Ritsuka could remember, he had hated his father. He had always called him 'Kiyoshi' and sometimes 'father' mockingly, but never 'dad'. Ritsuka could admit that he didn't hate his father anymore. He had gone such lengths to find him. How _could _he hate him anymore?

"I could've stopped Seimei before all of this happened, before he hurt you," Kiyoshi went on, looking down and away. "But I didn't. I hate myself for it and I always will. I just…didn't want to believe it. I wanted to believe that it was some phase that he was going through, that he was just going to come up to Misaki and I and say 'Mommy, Daddy, let's just be a happy family'. I was so delusional. How could I not see the danger he was putting you in?"

Ritsuka could only stare at his father in shock as he saw a single tear fall from his eyes. The older man's voice shook, too. Kiyoshi loved Ritsuka. Ritsuka could see that now. He crawled over to him and put his arms around him, feeling a bit awkward at first. "Its okay, Dad," Ritsuka whispered, feeling Kiyoshi hug him back, almost crushing the teen against him.

"You've never called me that before," Kiyoshi murmured back, holding Ritsuka tighter for a moment and then letting him go. He took a moment to regain his composer before speaking again. "Listen, I'm not going to let Seimei ever do anything to you again. Ritsuka, you have to trust us, all of us. Septimal Moon is not the enemy. We're going to capture Seimei and-"

"I'm going to kill him," Ritsuka stated before he could think it over. "We're going to kill him. Soubi and I. Nobody wants him dead more than us. I'm never going back with Seimei. I'm never going to let him hurt Soubi again. All of us will capture and fight him, but Soubi and I are going to be the ones to kill him."

Kiyoshi gave Ritsuka a short nod, "You two deserve it, anyway."

* * *

**I finally get to talk a little here!**

**I won't ramble on about my life, so I'll try not to. Anyways, the last chapter was actually supposed to be longer than it was, but then it just got to be ridiculously long, so I just cut it short. What was supposed to be in that chapter (Kiyoshi and Ritsuka's make-up and the beach scene) are in this chapter and the next. **

**This all is actually my theory on Ritsuka's memory loss. I admit it's a bit far-fetched, but I honestly think it makes sense. What I find that a lot of people tend to leave out in fan-fictions is that Ritsuka's mother _did not _abuse him before he lost his memories (that was stated in the manga, right?), Ritsuka was a different person before he lost his memories, and that the Aoyagi family moved after Seimei's death. I also find it strange that in the beginning of the manga Soubi says "you don't remember me?"/"You don't know me?" which signifies that Soubi and Ritsuka _have met before_. I swear I have reasons, I'm not just throwing nonsense theories out there. **

**As for a secondary pairing, I have decided to do Ritsu/Nagisa since I do fully ship them, but I don't think I can pull off Kio/Nakahira. Quite honestly the only pairing would either have to be Nakahira/Chouma (since I've already hinted at this) or Nakahira/Kiyoshi (RANDOM CRACK PAIRING LOL). Should I put up another poll about this?**

**Please review if you want to see what's going to happen next!**

**~Wolfie  
**


	27. Day 040

**Day 040**

Soubi was making a sleeping Ritsuka breakfast when the tired boy wandered in from the bedroom, looking a bit dazed. The previous night had been a long one after Soubi's sanity had come very close to snapping again once he heard that he might be the cause of Ritsuka's memory loss. Soubi had come back to see Ritsuka talking with Kiyoshi and later the boy had informed him that they had made up.

They had spent the rest of the night talking about Soubi's thirty-seven day struggle to find Ritsuka. He had explained about the dream they shared and about the journey to Seven Voices in the terrible weather. Ritsuka had been amazed by Soubi telling him about talking to Seimei over the phone and saying that he didn't take orders. Ritsuka had been worried when he was told of Soubi's violent fight with Shapeless and awestruck Soubi told him of the little girl that it had transformed into. He was particularly interested in the stories of Soubi and Kiyoshi coming up with their cover and presenting it at the press conference. He was excited when Soubi informed him of how well people had taken to it.

Soubi had described the raid to him in full detail, watching his enthralled face closely. He seemed to be amazed at how hard Soubi had fought to rescue him from Seimei.

"Good morning," Soubi greeted Ritsuka happily, smiling at the bed-headed teen. Ritsuka stared at him blankly, reminding Soubi of how much Ritsuka hated mornings.

"Morning…" Ritsuka grumbled, slowly making his way over to the kitchenette. "How the hell can you be so happy in the morning when you stay up all hours of the night?"

Ritsuka, of course, was referring to Soubi's wild sleeping patterns, which weren't really patterns at all. Ever since he was young, Soubi had been able to not really keep a sleeping schedule. Ritsuka, on the other hand, always seemed to fall asleep somewhere around eleven and wake up at around seven. Soubi had done his best to never disturb his sleeping schedule, but he couldn't seem to get on it himself. When Ritsuka had gotten too tired to talk anymore and had asked Soubi to come to bed with him, Soubi had found himself able to just lay there beside Ritsuka, listening to his gentle breathing until Soubi finally fell asleep.

"It's a special skill that I have," Soubi told him simply, holding out a plate of food to him. Ritsuka perked up a little, smiling slightly and taking the plate to the small table to sit down. Soubi cleaned up a little before joining him.

"It's a nice day out today," Soubi started, watching a very happy Ritsuka start to eat. He could imagine Ritsuka's tail wagging, if it were still there. "Want to go to the beach later today? I heard that it's supposed to stay like this all day."

"Yes!" Ritsuka sounded like he was fully awake now. "Did you bring a camera? I want to take pictures."

Over the past few days, Soubi had concluded that Ritsuka hadn't changed much. He was still the same innocent, caring boy he was before he got taken. He still liked to make memories and he still hated mornings. It confused Soubi a little. After so much time spent with Seimei, after all the times he had abused him, whether it was physically, mentally, or sexually, Soubi had expected Ritsuka to have changed. But he hadn't. It didn't make sense. It did seem like Ritsuka had a little more problems trusting people, but other than that he was fine. He was even okay with physical contact from those close to him.

Why hadn't Ritsuka changed? It wasn't like Soubi _wanted _him to. He loved Ritsuka the way he was. He had just _expected_ some sort change. Soubi had taken a lot of abuse himself and he had been changed drastically by it. Ritsuka didn't even seem to have any attachment to Seimei, where Soubi had had attachment to both Ritsu and Seimei.

It dawned on him, then. Ritsuka wasn't changed because he had had somebody to go through it with. He wasn't attached to Seimei because he had someone to run to. That man that Ritsuka had asked him to take with him during the attack, Nakahira, had he somehow prevented Ritsuka from emotional breakdown by helping Ritsuka through Seimei's attacks on him?

From what Ritsuka had told Soubi, Nakahira had been the one that took care of him throughout his imprisonment. He had become a friend to Ritsuka once it became evident that Nakahira wasn't going to hurt him. Ritsuka only spoke well of him and, although he was wary, Soubi was coming to trust him, too.

"I did bring a camera," Soubi willed himself to just stop thinking so that he could focus on Ritsuka. "I'll take you as soon as you're ready."

* * *

Later in the evening, Ritsuka smiled happily as he bounced along Soubi's side, his hand in his. Ritsuka looked down at their intertwined fingers and he felt like laughing again. They walked down the beach, along the shoreline, feeling the bright sun on their skin. A line of footprints followed them, ones that they themselves had made. It was a short trail, as they had only just begun their walk. They had been taking pictures before.

This made Ritsuka happy. This was so simple, but Ritsuka was glad to do such a thing. A walk with Soubi. It seemed so…normal. Something a normal couple would do. It was almost as if Seimei hadn't held Ritsuka captive for over a month.

"It's warm out today!" Ritsuka pointed out, feeling the sun hot on his skin, despite the fact that the day was almost over. They were further down south, where the weather was more unpredictable. Even though it being the beginning of February, the sun still beat down at them. Ritsuka had even worn a pair of Natsuo's shorts and a short-sleeved button up shirt of Soubi's.

"It is," Soubi smiled down at the teen, looking just as happy as the little Sacrifice was. He glanced behind him and stopped walking, causing Ritsuka to look back, too. He groaned as he saw Natsuo and Youji running towards them, followed by Kiyoshi, Nakahira, and Chouma.

"Oh no…" Ritsuka frowned, holding Soubi's hand tighter.

"I can outrun them," Soubi suggested, smirking. "Though that would involve me picking you up."

Before Ritsuka could give his answer, he was hugged violently by the other two boys his age. Ritsuka yelped, nearly losing his balance. The two were soon shoved off by Soubi, who then proceeded to hold Ritsuka protectively around the waist. Something about how protective Soubi was made Ritsuka want to laugh.

"We saw that you two were out here," Kiyoshi said as he and Nakahira approached. Chouma trailed behind them, looking out at the ocean. "And Natsuo and Youji begged to come, so we all decided to go."

"Where's Kio?" Soubi asked them, loosening his hold on Ritsuka a little.

Ritsuka glanced down at their joined hands as he listened to Chouma's explanation of why Kio was unconscious in the large shared room. Their hands fit so well together. They were meant to be like this. Ritsuka never wanted to be torn from Soubi again. Just a few days before, Ritsuka had been fully prepared to see Soubi just one last time and then go back to Seimei to prevent anyone else dying. But now…now he couldn't leave. He couldn't ever leave Soubi now that they were fully bonded. He knew about all the trouble Soubi had gone through just to find him and how terrible he felt without Ritsuka. He didn't want Soubi to go through that again.

How many lives would be sacrificed just so that Ritsuka could stay with Soubi? How far would Seimei go just to find Ritsuka? He would kill Soubi, that was for sure. Maybe even Kiyoshi…Nakahira…Chouma…The Zero boys, anyone close to him. Perhaps he would even kill Misaki. Seimei would go so far as to kill every one Ritsuka was close to, so that he was the only one Ritsuka could turn to, just as he had done when he took his memories and made Misaki insane, causing Kiyoshi to all but leave the family.

"Ritsuka, Ritsuka, look!" Natsuo pulled slightly at his arm, pointing to a dock not too far away. The sun was gradually setting over the horizon, the red, purple, and blue-ish colors bathing the entire sky. The sun was dropping fast, the bright orange orb getting further and further away from them.

Ritsuka ran towards the extending dock, pulling Soubi along with him. The others followed as the teen darted towards it and onto it, running to the edge. He wobbled at the end, trying to stop himself. He would've fallen in if Soubi hadn't pulled him back against him.

"You should be more careful," Soubi murmured, holding him against him around the waist. Ritsuka leaned into him, his head against his chest. The others surrounded them, Natsuo and Youji talking endlessly, and Nakahira, Kiyoshi, and Chouma looking at the sky with Ritsuka and Soubi.

Ritsuka looked at the people surrounding him, feeling truly happy once again. He had never felt this fulfillment before getting rescued. He loved these people. They loved him. Every one of these people, even poor unconscious Kio, were the people closest to him. They would fight for him. For the first time ever, Ritsuka felt as if he had a real family.

* * *

Soubi shivered and placed his hands out in front of the hot fire he had started. Ritsuka laid on the blanket next to him, his head in Soubi's lap. Kiyoshi and Nakahira sat on the other side of the small fire on another blanket. They sat close together, a fleece blanket draped over both of them.

They were still on the beach even though they had watched the sun set hours ago. Once it had gotten dark, Soubi had found a lighter and gathered some sticks to light a fire. Chouma had left soon after, saying that she was feeling a bit sick and that she wanted to go check on Kio. Natsuo and Youji left soon after that, saying that they were bored, leaving just the four of them.

Kiyoshi told stories of trying to look into Seimei's doings and being forced down from his position of the Septimal Moon council. Nakahira talked about his life before getting taken by Seimei and how he had been apprenticed as a scientist by his father and about how his father taught him everything he knew of Fighters and Sacrifices and science. Soubi decided to talk, too, telling them of how his mother and father had died in a set car explosion.

"My father didn't have any family," Soubi told the other two adults. He was almost positive that Ritsuka was asleep. He had made sure the boy wouldn't be cold and had covered him with a couple of blankets.

"None?" Nakahira repeated. Soubi had begun to like him. At first he had been unsure about him since he didn't know how he felt about Seimei or if he was somehow feeding information to him, but now he was positive that Nakahira was fully on their side. The anger and sadness in his voice couldn't be feigned as he talked about the explosion that killed his entire family.

"No. None that I could ever locate," Soubi had tried and tried for years to find some sort of connection to his father's family, but he could never find them. "My father was a lawyer, I think, but he was almost always home." Soubi could remember very little about his family, but what he could remember was precious to him. "My mother was an artist. She was usually home, too. I remember having some problems in public school."

Soubi could recall always having anger issues at school. He could control it very well now, but back then it was different. It wasn't that he had a short fuse; it was that once he snapped he usually got violent, as he still did occasionally. He was always smarter than all the other kids, but he often got made fun of for that and because he looked quite feminine when he was younger. He had been stronger than other kids, though, which only made him get into more fights at regular school or, later, at Seven Voices.

"I got into a lot of fights even though I was really young," Soubi continued, realizing it was the first time he had told this story in a long time. "So my mother and father decided to home school me. It worked out well. We lived in America, where my mother was from, even though I was born in Japan. I didn't know why at the time, but I figured out that her and my father were running from Ritsu."

"Ritsu? What connection did they have with him?" Kiyoshi was looking at him with genuine interest.

"My mother was Ritsu's Sacrifice," Soubi said bluntly, almost leaving it at that, but then deciding to elaborate. "I dug up a lot of information about their relationship these past few years." Soubi had tried to learn about his parents, since when Seimei claimed him he was finally starting to understand his parents' untimely demise. "To put it shortly, they were in love and then had a horrible falling out after my mother starting seeing my father. Actually, I don't know much more than that. I assume they ran from him when I was born because he must've found out I was a Fighter and wanted to keep him from taking me into custody under Septimal Moon."

One thing Soubi did remember about his parents was that they loved him. They had never yelled or gotten violent with him. They had been wonderful. They adjusted their life to his needs and had always put him first. They had let him know that they loved him every day.

"You said they died in a set car explosion?" Nakahira asked, glancing first at Kiyoshi and then back at Soubi. "Who…?"

Soubi captured a piece of Ritsuka's hair and ran it in between his fingers. He felt Ritsuka shiver and he pulled the couple blankets tighter around him. Ritsuka made a small sound and clutched Soubi's shirt in his hand tightly. He looked adorable, though Soubi felt bad about him being out in the cold like this.

"I don't know," Soubi confessed, still looking at Ritsuka. "I used to ask Ritsu a lot. He always said that it was someone they had fought. As many times as he lied to me…I still believe him on this one."

* * *

Ritsuka had almost dozed off while listening to Soubi and the others talk. He had stayed awake, though. He had finally learned about what happened to Soubi's family.

"…Last year I called my mother's sister and mother," Soubi was saying. Ritsuka blinked his eyes open in surprise. He had always believed that Soubi had absolutely no family at all. "They wanted nothing to do with me. They disowned my mother and therefore, me too. They really hated my mother and my father, and that hate carries over to me. I see where I get my personality from, now. They called me words that I can't say in front of Ritsuka and I told them to go to hell."

Ritsuka frowned, feeling horrible. Sure, Misaki beat Ritsuka and Kiyoshi, up until now, had never been a part of Ritsuka's life, but at least he _had _parents. Soubi didn't and his only family wanted nothing to do with him. He had such a horrible life. It was amazing that Soubi was still sane.

"Do you want to go back to the room?" Soubi asked Ritsuka, surprising him by knowing that he was awake. Ritsuka was captured by how he looked in the darkness and firelight and found himself unable to come up with an answer. He wanted to kiss him right then, but he couldn't with Kiyoshi and Nakahira there.

"It is getting late…" Kiyoshi stated and Nakahira nodded in agreement. "We should be getting back."

"That's probably a good idea." Soubi smiled down at Ritsuka, making the teen blush, "Do you want me to carry you?"

"I'm okay," Ritsuka said, although he seriously considered Soubi's offer. The older man helped him up and Ritsuka watched as the others put out the fire and gathered the blankets. Ritsuka offered to help, but Soubi said that it was okay.

It was on the walk back across the beach to the hotel that Ritsuka's happiness came crashing down. Ritsuka was at Soubi's side, admiring the night sky. His father and Nakahira walked beside them. Something made Ritsuka think of his mother, though he didn't know what exactly made her cross his mind. It started out as a simple, innocent question.

"Hey, Dad," Ritsuka turned to Kiyoshi, who still seemed to be pleased to be called 'Dad'. "How's Mom? Who'd you leave her with? Is she okay?"

Kiyoshi exchanged looks with Soubi and they both stopped. Ritsuka's expression fell as he realized something was very, very wrong. Soubi put his hand on Ritsuka's shoulder and Ritsuka was about to go out of his mind with anticipation.

"What?" Ritsuka pressed, his voice urgent and panicky. "What is it? What happened?"

"We both assumed that Seimei told you," Soubi was speaking in a quiet voice, as if afraid Ritsuka was going to do something outrageous. He was looking at Ritsuka with such sadness and empathy. It scared Ritsuka.

"Misaki died," Kiyoshi told Ritsuka, using the same quiet and slow voice. Ritsuka's eyes went wide and he suddenly felt frozen to the ground. Dead? Misaki was dead? Who had done it? Was it suicide? Was it Ritsuka's fault?

"No…" Ritsuka whispered. His eyes filled with tears as he fully registered that he had lost his mother. "No!"

"I'm sorry…" Kiyoshi murmured. "Seimei…Seimei set the house on fire. When it burned, she died, too. I'm-!"

Ritsuka never got to hear his father's next words. He pulled away from Soubi and bolted, the tears falling freely as he ran away. Soubi called him and took off after him, closing the distance between them quickly. Soubi could outrun Ritsuka, but Ritsuka got enough of a head start that he was already in the bedroom before Soubi could properly stop him.

Ritsuka slammed the door, collapsing on the floor, becoming a wreck of sobs and sadness.

* * *

**I would really like to thank you all for reviewing so much! I really, really do appreciate it!**

**That being said, I am terribly sorry for the slower than usual updates. Those of you who have been reading my fanfics for a few months will probably know that I have a lot of health problems. I have unusually fragile health. I am very sorry that I can't get chapters out very fast when my health flares up like this. I will not stop writing. Updates will simply be slower.**

**Anyways, please keep up the wonderful work of reviewing! I will try to get the next chapter up by Friday!**

**~Wolfie  
**


	28. Day 041 part 1

**Day 041**

**_Part 0ne_  
**

"Ritsuka!" Soubi shouted, desperately trying to get the boy to open up the door. About an hour before, Ritsuka had run into the bedroom after being told of his mother's murder. He had locked the door and all Soubi could hear was Ritsuka's desperate crying. Both Soubi and Kiyoshi had been trying to get him to unlock the door since the teen had locked it. Kiyoshi had stepped out for a moment to take a call, but Soubi still persisted.

"Soubi," Kiyoshi lightly touched Soubi's arm, getting the man's attention. Soubi glared at him, sure that interruption would only make Ritsuka more reluctant to open the door. "Can I talk with you for a moment?"

"No," Soubi growled. Ritsuka was more important than whatever Kiyoshi had to say. "You can tell me whatever the hell it is now."

Kiyoshi sighed, glancing at the door for a moment before turning his gaze back to Soubi. "There's been another set fire," He started. "I got a call from a landlord who wants me to represent him in court…"

"What are you getting at?" Soubi couldn't see how this was of any importance.

Kiyoshi suddenly looked a bit anxious, "I'm sorry but… Your house…apartment burned down."

"What?" This was another message to Soubi and Ritsuka. First it was Ritsuka's mother and house and now Seimei had burned down Soubi's home to let them know that he was still alive. That meant that he had escaped the attack and was alive and well.

"The top floor was the only floor that burned," Kiyoshi went on cautiously. Soubi's eyes went wide with shock. _He_ was the only one on the top floor. His apartment, which could be considered a house, took up a small portion of the roof. Soubi had only chosen it because the rest of the roof was considered his property. Not only did he get the rest of the roof, but he also had a large balcony. It was nice to look out at the city at night from it. It was small, but Soubi owned it and it had its own roof, so it wasn't exactly an apartment, but he was still under his landlord's control to some extent.

"Seimei did it," Soubi muttered, half to himself. "He's still alive-!"

Soubi stopped at the sound of the door to the bedroom opening and he turned around to face Ritsuka. The boy's tear-stained face stared back at him and he leaned on the door heavily. Soubi felt another pang of sadness for him. He himself didn't remember his own mother or father, but Ritsuka did. Clearly.

"W-What…" Ritsuka sniffled, not even trying to hide his devastated expression from Soubi and Kiyoshi. "What's going on?" Ritsuka finished softly.

Soubi and Kiyoshi exchanged glances. Soubi wondered if they should tell Ritsuka. Would it just make him worse, or would he even care? It had been _Soubi's_ house after all. It held no value to Ritsuka.

"It's nothing, Ritsuka," Soubi told him, not exactly lying, just trying to keep him from crying more.

"Tell me," Ritsuka begged softly.

Soubi glanced at Kiyoshi again, not sure of what to do. He didn't know how Ritsuka would react in the fragile state that he was in. Finally, he just decided to tell Ritsuka, knowing- that he would find out sooner or later. "My house burned down," Soubi informed Ritsuka. He didn't have to tell him _who_ did it, since it was quite obvious.

Ritsuka's face took on a look of shock and he threw himself at Soubi, hugging him tightly around the waist. Astonished, Soubi patted him on the head, watching as the child buried his face in Soubi's chest. He whimpered slightly and Soubi could tell that he was crying again. Kiyoshi had muttered something about leaving them to talk and that he'd be back later, and then left.

Soubi pulled Ritsuka towards the couch and the teen climbed into his lap. He could only watch as Ritsuka sobbed incoherently while clutching the older man's shirt. Soubi pressed his lips against Ritsuka's head. He wanted to comfort him, but he didn't know how to tell Ritsuka everything was going to be okay when his mother had died. It wasn't going to be alright. Things were only going to get worse now. Seimei was planning something, something big and he was letting them both know that he was more powerful than they would ever be.

"Soubi…" Ritsuka whispered after he had quieted down a bit. "We're going to kill him… I hate him…I don't care how long it takes…I just want him dead…"

Soubi felt exactly how Ritsuka was. There was no doubt that they were feeling the same way. Soubi wanted Seimei dead. Seimei had gone too far and there was no telling how much further he would go. He wanted Ritsuka, but that wasn't his only objective. It couldn't be. Seimei was scheming something big, huge. He had Ritsuka procured so that Ritsuka would be safe and alive during whatever Seimei was planning.

Soubi pressed his lips against Ritsuka's, trying to distract him from the pain and suffering. "I'm here, Ritsuka," He told him in a low voice, kissing him again. He slowly laid Ritsuka down on the couch, licking at his lips lightly. Ritsuka opened his mouth, allowing him entrance. He gripped Soubi's shoulders, moaning into his mouth. Soubi pressed down against him, their bodies as close together as possible.

Ritsuka was the first to pull away and he ducked his head into Soubi's chest again, whimpering. "Promise me you'll never leave me," Ritsuka's muffled voice pleaded.

"I'll never leave you," Soubi promised him truthfully. He wouldn't leave Ritsuka, even if he ordered him to. He wouldn't be able to stand life without Ritsuka. Soubi couldn't even imagine how terrible it would be.

He kissed Ritsuka's head, coaxing him into lying back down flat on the couch. He kissed his way down Ritsuka's face until he reached his lips again, and he took those captive, too. Ritsuka's small tongue flicked into Soubi's mouth, slowly feeling its way around. His hands went around the older man's neck, drawing him down closer. His legs went around Soubi's waist, his feet crossing behind his back.

"Are you okay?" Soubi asked Ritsuka, not wanting to go any further without asking Ritsuka.

Ritsuka met his eyes and the extreme sadness was still there, but there was also lust and desire in them. He nodded, speaking in a quiet voice, "Go on…it'll make me forget for a little while…Soubi, I love you. I just want everything to stay like this for awhile… I don't want to deal with anything…"

Soubi leaned back down, pressing a kiss to the sensitive spot below Ritsuka's ear in response. Ritsuka let out a slightly high-pitched moan, his hands grabbing some of Soubi's hair and pulling lightly. Soubi worked his way down to Ritsuka's neck, licking a path down his throat. Ritsuka clung onto him, moaning loudly with his eyes tightly shut. Soubi loved that he could reduce him to a moaning hot mess so easily. He could care less about the volume. Soubi would much rather Ritsuka be loud than anything else. Truthfully, it was unbelievably arousing.

Soubi smirked before biting down on a spot along his throat. Ritsuka's back arched, causing him to rub against Soubi. He could feel that the boy was hard, just as he was. Soubi reached between them, lips still attached to Ritsuka's skin, and rubbed Ritsuka through the shorts that he was still wearing. He heard him gasp and Soubi rubbed harder, continuing his path down to the top of the oversized Ritsuka had on. Soubi pushed his other hand under the bottom hem, resting it on Ritsuka's small chest. He glanced up at Ritsuka for confirmation and he gave a little nod.

Soubi wanted to make Ritsuka forget for a little while about the troubles that plagued him. Ritsuka had been through too much for a boy his age. Soubi wished that he wouldn't have to go through even more, that it would all be over soon. It wasn't, though. Soubi had the worst feeling that everything was just beginning.

* * *

Ritsuka's mother was dead. Misaki was dead. Seimei. Seimei killed her. Seimei burned down their house. Seimei burned down _Soubi's_ house. He was going to kill everyone. He was going to go to huge lengths to steal Ritsuka back. He had already gone to great lengths to try to get him back. There was no way out. This entire ordeal hadn't ended with Soubi rescuing Ritsuka, as Ritsuka wished that it had. It had only just started.

Ritsuka stared down at Soubi, the man he loved. He had removed Ritsuka's shirt and was lightly rubbing the bulge in Ritsuka's pants. Ritsuka ran his fingers through Soubi's hair, turned on like never before. Soubi had succeeded in taking Ritsuka's mind off of his mother's death and the seemingly never ending threat of Seimei. He had reminded Ritsuka that no matter what, he would stay with him, even if Seimei tried to tear them apart. Soubi would never leave him. He would always be there to hold Ritsuka when the days got hard. He would always be there to talk to. Ritsuka was no longer going through this alone. He had Soubi.

Ritsuka watched through half-open eyes as the beautiful blonde man on top of him went down on his chest, his talented tongue finding its way to Ritsuka's nipples. Ritsuka's back arched again as Soubi took one into his mouth, his fingers flicking over the right one and his other hand palming Ritsuka through his shorts. He moaned, begging for more, his words coming out in an incomprehensible mess of 'Soubi, Soubi, _please_'. He wasn't sure what he was begging for, but he knew that he wanted _something_ that this man could give him.

"You're already quite hard…" Soubi murmured, switching his hand and his mouth. He gave the same treatment to Ritsuka's other nipple, sucking gently and curling his tongue around the small bud, bringing it quickly to hardness. Ritsuka pressed into his rubbing hand, aching for that touch on his erection, on his skin and not through his clothes.

Soubi seemed to understand and sat back on his knees, giving himself more room to undo the buttons on Ritsuka's shorts and pull them off. He kissed Ritsuka again, and the teens eye's immediately shut when he felt Soubi's tongue slip into his mouth. He tangled his own appendage with his boyfriend's, the movements of their wet organs moving together in a dance. Ritsuka felt Soubi's hand slip into his boxers and take his arousal into his hand. Ritsuka groaned, pulling away from the kiss.

Soubi was wearing too many clothes. Ritsuka was laying on the couch almost naked while Soubi was fully clothed. He tugged at the bottom of Soubi's shirt, hoping that he'd get the point. He did and sat up, pulling his shirt of and then pulling Ritsuka's boxers off. Ritsuka flushed, tempted to squeeze his legs together to hide his arousal, embarrassed by the fact that he was fully exposed. He didn't though, letting Soubi see him naked and exposed.

His Fighter took his hard cock in his hand again, stroking it agonizingly slowly. Ritsuka shook with pleasure, wanting more still. He needed Soubi now. Ritsuka needed to be closer. He whimpered and Soubi picked up his pace, pumping Ritsuka lightly. Ritsuka's hands found their way into Soubi's hair again, looking for something to hold onto. He shook violently and his hips thrusted into Soubi's hand again and again. He made sounds that he didn't even know were possible for a male to make. Those sounds filled the otherwise silent room and the only light came from the lamp beside the couch, bathing them both in a dim yellowy light.

Soubi suddenly sat up, pulling Ritsuka up with him. "What…?" Ritsuka started to say, but stopped when Soubi pulled him into his lap. He sighed, making a low sound as Ritsuka settled down on him. Ritsuka blushed more, realizing that he was seated right over the tent in the blonde's pants. He smiled a little, proud that he could arouse Soubi. "Do you like it when I sit in your lap?" He asked, rocking his hips downwards.

Soubi groaned and then nodded, answering Ritsuka's question. Nervously, Ritsuka undid the button on his jeans, pulling them down and over his hips. He glanced back up at Soubi, wondering what he wanted him to do.

"Do whatever you want," Soubi said reassuringly. Ritsuka smiled and nodded again. He pulled Soubi's pants and boxers off, having to lift himself to do so. He couldn't keep himself from staring at his Fighter's big cock and wondering what he could do to make Soubi moan.

Carefully, Ritsuka lifted himself off of Soubi, lying down next to him on his side so that his head fell in Soubi's lap. He experimentally kissed the head of his erection, extremely satisfied with the low sound Soubi made above him. He kissed down the older man's hot arousal, wrapping his tongue around it occasionally. The sounds Soubi was making encouraged him on, as well as the hand Soubi had in his hair. Ritsuka started to bob his head up and down, feeling Soubi's cock throb in his mouth. He sucked and used his tongue, remembering how Soubi had pleasured him on their first night together.

He was happy that Soubi had taken his mind off of his mother's death, but the sadness of it was still fresh in Ritsuka's mind. Now, at least, he knew that Soubi would help him through it and that he wasn't alone. He wouldn't be alone anymore.

"Ritsuka…" Soubi moaned, his voice low and rough with lust. Ritsuka shivered and continued on, determined to make him come. He felt Soubi reach over and fondle his erection again, rubbing it in his hand. Ritsuka made a sound, causing his lips to vibrate. Soubi just got louder and rubbed Ritsuka harder.

Ritsuka realized with a sudden jolt of excitement that anyone could walk in on them at any time. They weren't in the bedroom; they were doing this out in the open. The others all had keys to this room, and Kiyoshi had said that he'd be back later. Of course, everyone knew that their relationship was sexual since they had heard them the first night, but it still made Ritsuka feel as if they were doing something dangerous and forbidden.

As a few minutes went by, Soubi's breathing got harder and his cock throbbed in Ritsuka's mouth. He sucked harder, knowing that Soubi was close. He could feel his own climax pooling in his stomach, threatening to break free. Ritsuka started teasing the head with his tongue, licking up the clear pre-cum that poured from it. Soubi groaned loudly, thrusting once and filling Ritsuka's mouth with his seed. Ritsuka swallowed, intrigued by its taste.

Soubi sat back, still pumping Ritsuka. He had the boy yelling out his name and grasping onto him with a few carefully timed jerks and strokes. He spilled his semen into Soubi's waiting hand and, breathing hard, he leaned on Soubi in the aftermath. The man slipped his arm around him, lovingly cuddling with him. He put his head on Ritsuka's shoulder, closing his eyes. Ritsuka patted his head, remembering how quickly Soubi had fallen asleep when they had had sex the first time.

"Was that sex?" Ritsuka inquired quietly.

"Yes," Soubi answered after a moment. "It was just non-intrusive. We should go…"

"…To the bed?" Ritsuka finished when Soubi didn't. Soubi nodded and pulled Ritsuka up, tiredly leading him to the bedroom. They cuddled together, snuggling closely under the covers. Ritsuka smiled to himself before falling asleep, remembering how Seimei had never been this warm and comforting. He had always been willing to cuddle, but not like Soubi was.

* * *

When Soubi awoke it was well into the afternoon. Ritsuka was curled next to him, naked and very close. Soubi smiled at his sleeping figure and reached over to the bed-stand to check his phone. He found that he had missed a call from Ritsu and there were a couple of angry messages from the dean of the art department in Soubi's university. He ignored them all, not wanting to know what Ritsu wanted and not wanting to hear the dean's raging rants. He was actually surprised that they had gotten his new phone number.

Soubi tossed his phone back onto the table, holding Ritsuka close again. He hoped that he had calmed Ritsuka down enough. Ritsuka had gone along with him and even decided to blow Soubi. Of course, Soubi had thoroughly enjoyed it, but he was happier to see that he had made Ritsuka forget about his troubles for a little while. Ritsuka would still be sad, but perhaps his pain had been eased a little. Ritsuka was starting to stir a little beside him. He opened his eyes slowly, quickly glancing up at Soubi. He sighed, a small smile on his lips. Soubi returned his smile, pressing a kiss against his head.

"Are you okay?" Ritsuka seemed okay, but Soubi still had to ask. Ritsuka could hide his emotions quite well, although Soubi could usually tell that he was doing it.

"I am now," Ritsuka leaned upwards, kissing Soubi lightly on the lips. "Thank you."

* * *

**I'm sorry this update is late. I did go over this chapter but I don't remember a lot of editing it since I had a horrible headache when doing so, so feel free to point out any and all errors.**

**So, this is another two part chapter. As I've said before, there's going to be a sequel. There's only going to be one or two more chapters of this. It sort of depends what my word count is. I really want to be the first author to break 100 thousand in the Loveless fandom. **

**Next chapter? Hopefully soon. I've been feeling a little better lately, and reviews really motivate me to write.**

**So, review for a sooner update!**

**~Wolfie  
**


	29. Day 041 part 2

**Day 041**

**_part two_**

A few hours later, Ritsuka sat with his father and Soubi in the larger suite. Soubi had his arm around him and Ritsuka dozed on his shoulder. They were watching the coverage of Soubi and Kiyoshi's disappearance. A clip a few days old of Ritsu speaking about having rescued Ritsuka was showing for about the sixth time that hour.

Kiyoshi and Ritsuka had talked about Misaki for a while before watching the newscast. Ritsuka found that he felt better if he talked about his mother. Kiyoshi had apologized multiple times for not doing anything about her when he should have. Ritsuka had forgiven him and had said so. Kiyoshi still apologized a couple more times before Ritsuka finally told him to stop and said that it didn't matter what he'd done in the past.

The sadness from the night had been overwhelming. Ritsuka had felt extreme depression and had thought that he was alone. Soubi showed him that he wasn't and that he would always be by his side. Ritsuka had others, too. There was Kiyoshi, Nakahira, Chouma, and the others stayed at the hotel with him. They were his friends, his family. Yes, Ritsuka was still sad about his mother. He had loved her, after all. That sadness, though, was just a small pang tugging at his heart. It didn't take control and destroy him as it had before.

Soubi's phone rang suddenly, startling Ritsuka and making him jump. He had nearly fallen asleep leaning on Soubi. It was getting dark out again and the Ritsu footage was playing again. It amazed Ritsuka how much coverage this entire ordeal was getting. Soubi had showed Ritsuka articles and websites and videos. Ritsuka was shocked at how many people had taken interest in them.

"Damn…" Soubi cursed under his breath and he pressed a button on his phone to ignore the call. Ritsuka glanced at him, concerned and curious. The ringtone almost immediately started up again and Soubi cussed again, this time saying a more obscene word, and ignored the call. This happened one more time, drawing Kiyoshi's attention, too. Soubi shut his phone off, looking angry, and tightened his hold around Ritsuka.

"Who was that, Soubi?" Ritsuka pressed, his concern growing. Soubi never acted like that way, especially around Ritsuka, unless something really pissed him off. It wasn't his usual cold, sarcastic, glaring personality, this was actual _anger_.

"…Ritsu," Soubi had hesitated before telling Ritsuka, as if he had seriously considered not telling him. Ritsuka leaned into Soubi more, attempting to be of comfort. He could sense Soubi's distress at his old teacher. He had raped him, just as Seimei had done to Ritsuka. From the way Soubi spoke of Ritsu, Ritsuka could tell that he had an extreme distaste for him.

"What's he calling you for?" Kiyoshi's words were met by a sharp glare from Soubi.

"I don't know," Soubi didn't even try to keep the anger out of his voice. "It can't be anything of importance, so I don't care to find out."

Kiyoshi shut up, probably not wanting to irk Soubi further. They sat in silence until new footage of Soubi's burned down apartment came on, the reporter speaking about it in an excited, annoying voice. Soubi made a sound that was halfway between a hiss and 'tch!'.

"Let's go back to the room," Ritsuka suggested, pulling at Soubi's sleeve to get his attention. Without waiting for an answer, Ritsuka tugged Soubi up by the wrist, shooting an apologetic look at his father. Kiyoshi nodded, a knowing expression on his face.

"I'm sorry, Ritsuka," Soubi apologized as soon as they were back in the safety of their room.

Ritsuka hugged him, taking Soubi by surprise. Soubi was still tense, Ritsuka could feel it. He pulled away to look up at Soubi's face, "Don't apologize. Just try to calm down a little, please."

"I didn't mean to-!"

"You don't have to apologize," Ritsuka silenced him. He knew that Soubi sincerely meant his apologies, but there was no reason for him to apologize. He couldn't help what he felt towards Ritsu, just as Ritsuka couldn't help what he felt towards Seimei. Ritsuka just wanted Soubi to calm down so he wouldn't do anything insane. "Do you want something to eat?"

Soubi peered at him from where he had collapsed onto the couch again. His expression turned to slightly amused, as if he couldn't believe that Ritsuka could cook. Ritsuka pouted playfully and went to the kitchen to fix something to eat for them.

Later that night, Ritsuka tried to sleep, but found himself unable to due to Soubi's restlessness. Ritsuka liked sleeping with him, although he knew Soubi never fell asleep before Ritsuka did, but this was just too hard to do. Soubi couldn't seem to find a comfortable position to sleep in. He would stay in one spot for a few seconds and then roll over or switch positions. Ritsuka then usually had to move, too, since he liked sleeping right up against Soubi.

Finally, Ritsuka just pretended to be asleep and Soubi kept close, even though he was still restless. Something was on his mind that was keeping him from sleeping peacefully. Ritsuka frowned, beginning to get agitated. Not mad, just agitated. He wondered what Soubi was thinking about that made him like this.

"Good god, Soubi," Ritsuka groaned after what seemed like an hour of Soubi's constant tossing and turning. He rolled over to face the older man, propping himself up. "Are you having sleeping problems or something?"

"I have a lot on my mind," Soubi sighed, his blue eyes blinking up at Ritsuka. "Sorry. I didn't mean to keep you up." He grabbed Ritsuka's wrist suddenly, "Let's go for a walk, Ritsuka."

"You're insane," Ritsuka said softly. "It's dark out. And cold."

"You can borrow my coat," And with that, Soubi was pulling a very unwilling Ritsuka out of bed and coaxing him into going for a walk on the beach in the complete darkness. He pulled Ritsuka down the hallway, one of Soubi's warm coats tied around him and buttoned up to his neck and a dark green scarf wrapped around his neck three times. Ritsuka stumbled after Soubi, still not fully awake. Soubi was holding his hand, at least.

Ritsuka was wide awake as soon as the couple stepped out into the cold air. He shivered, thinking of how warm Soubi was when he held him against him in bed. He almost wanted to ask Soubi to take him back to the room so that they could cuddle again and…maybe do something more again. That thought sounded nice, but Ritsuka had to know what was eating away at Soubi.

"What's wrong?" Ritsuka questioned, yawning loudly. He grasped onto Soubi's hand, walking close to him.

"I've just been thinking about what Seimei's going to do next and where we're going to…oh, I haven't told you yet," Soubi stopped talking and stared out at the ocean, causing Ritsuka to follow his gaze. The site was beautiful, with the moon shining over the ocean, creating a brilliant reflection in the multi-colored waves.

"Haven't told me what?" Ritsuka was a bit worried. The last time Soubi and Kiyoshi hadn't told him something, Misaki had ended up murdered.

"I found those adoption papers in your desk," Soubi murmured.

Ritsuka gasped, his eyes snapping back up to meet Soubi's. He had completely forgotten about the adoption papers. Right before getting taken, Misaki's abuse had really escalated and, since he had been growing closer to Soubi, he had started to look up adoption. Soubi had offered many times to let him move in, but Ritsuka had turned him down every time. Ritsuka had been seriously considering taking him up on his offer. He had printed off the papers and filled them out except for the signatures.

"I talked to your father about them," Soubi continued, gently rubbing Ritsuka's hand. "…and he agreed to sign the papers and let you live with me. If you want to, that is."

"That's great!" Ritsuka exclaimed, grinning happily. It gave Ritsuka hope that there _was_ going to be an end to this. There was going to be a time when they could live together without the threat of Seimei. They would be able to attend school again and go out like normal people. Ritsuka laughed sadly, realizing the irony of it. "Soubi…You do know that we're both homeless, then, right?"

Soubi smirked, laughing at the ironic statement. "We'll have to find an apartment. My old one was too small, anyways."

Ritsuka frowned again, "I'm sorry Seimei burned your house down." The scars Soubi had on his body came into Ritsuka's mind abruptly. Seimei had done so many things to abuse Soubi. Why? What had Soubi done to deserve that? Nobody ever deserved to be punished in the way Soubi had. He had been changed by it. Like Ritsuka, Soubi's scars were mental, not just physical.

Soubi and Ritsuka walked in silence for a little longer, Ritsuka's mind primarily occupied with Soubi's abuse. He wanted to ask about it, but he was afraid Soubi would shut him out. Ritsuka could understand why he would do that. Ritsuka had only gone through about a month of abuse and it was still hard for him to talk about it. Soubi had gone through over _two years_ of it.

"Soubi," Ritsuka began cautiously. "Tell me about what he did to you."

* * *

Soubi stopped walking, struggling with Ritsuka's question. Memories that he usually tried to keep away flooded his mind. Every one of the long, painful nights Soubi remembered. Most of the physical scars had healed over, though some were still there. Seimei had taught Soubi lessons, punished him, and simply reminded him that he was _his_ all by whip or some other physical form. Soubi flinched every time he heard a whip crack because of it.

Ritsuka squeezed his hand, reminding Soubi that he was still there. Soubi glanced down, haunted by those unwanted memories. Seimei called him names, hit him, slapped him, degraded him down to nothing more than a dog, and so much more. Before meeting Ritsuka, Soubi had thought next to nothing of himself. That was how Seimei had taught him. Seimei had been his god. His word was law. If he told Soubi to jump off a building, Soubi would've done it. Seimei had made him _want_ to curl up in a ball and die so many damn times.

"Are you okay?" Ritsuka had taken to holding Soubi around the waist, his small, warm body against Soubi's. He had a concerned look on his face and eyes, a look that Soubi had never seen on Seimei. Seimei had never been worried about him. Hell, he would beat Soubi half to death and then expect him to meet with him the next day.

Seimei had never told Soubi what exactly he planned or was doing, but Soubi was able to get the gist of it. Seimei ordered Soubi to take down all teams stronger than they were. They had been well known and notorious for their horrific tactics and Seimei's unforgiving presence. He often ordered Soubi to kill their opponents, and Soubi knew better than to question Seimei's orders.

"Seimei used to punish me especially hard if I left whoever we were battling alive," Soubi breathed, looking straight ahead out at the ocean. "There was this one team…Voiceless. Seimei had created a bank account in their name and used it to transfer research grants that Septimal Moon had and he stole. The pair called Seimei out on it and Seimei fabricated a bunch of evidence that they were traitors. I was ordered to help him. Septimal Moon sent us after them. You remember the Voiceless Fighter, remember?"

"Yes," Ritsuka nodded, holding onto Soubi tightly. "She begged you to kill her after you fought her."

"Yes, well, I think that Seimei knew that I had left her alive," Soubi continued, shivering with the memory. "I didn't know that she was alive, but Seimei must have. A couple days later he told me to come over and he used his knife on me. I lost so much blood that I passed out on the street near my house."

Ritsuka whimpered a little and rested his head against Soubi's chest. Soubi started running his hands through his hair almost immediately. He was sweet and caring, the exact opposite of his brother. Soubi had thought before Ritsuka that he had loved Seimei. That wasn't love. Love was being with someone every second of the day because you want to, not because you had to. If Seimei told Soubi that he didn't have to come see him, even when Soubi was his Fighter, he wouldn't have gone seen him. If Ritsuka had told him the same thing, Soubi wouldn't hesitate to go see him. Love was being so close to someone that you know everything about them. Love was what Soubi felt for Ritsuka.

"He punished me a lot," Soubi found himself able to go on because Ritsuka was holding him so intimately. "It was mostly because of minor things I did wrong. He liked everything to be in the right place. If something was out of place, he would teach me a lesson on cleanliness, usually by whip. There was this one time… I had to work on something with Kio, an art project, and he was there. He hated Kio and he usually told me to kick him out when he was around. He came over to work on his laptop and play Wisdom Resurrection. I was supposed to leave him alone when he did that. I planned to, but Kio said we needed him out. I asked Seimei to leave, just for awhile…"

Ritsuka pressed himself closer, offering comfort. "I'm sorry…" Ritsuka murmured. "I shouldn't have made-!"

"No," Soubi interrupted softly. "I've…I've never talked about it with anyone about it before. Kio knew some of it, but I never talked about it with him. Anyways… I asked him to leave and he had one of his mood swings."

"Soubi, are you alright?"

Soubi realized he was shaking. _No, no, no_, he thought, unable to look at Ritsuka. _I have to stay strong. For Ritsuka._ He tried to stop his shaking, angry at his own physical reaction to the horrible memory. He could take physical pain, but the mental pain from that day was too much. He hated that he couldn't even control his own reactions and emotions.

"Let's sit down," Ritsuka suggested, taking Soubi's hand again and leading him to a bench. Ritsuka sat first, pulling Soubi down with him. Soubi put his head in his hands, rubbing his temples in slow circles. Ritsuka's arms went around him, clinging to his neck lovingly. "It's okay, Soubi. I know how you feel. I understand that it's hard for you to talk about this." Ritsuka was kneeling, his arms around Soubi in a passionate embrace, his head on Soubi's shoulder. _I have you. I love you. Don't ever do to me what he did… Please, Ritsuka, I need you. I'm too weak to be alone anymore._

Soubi had never needed Seimei like he needed Ritsuka. In truth, Soubi had been alone until Ritsuka had come along. He couldn't go back to that. Ritsuka had changed him, in a good way. Previously, Soubi was just a vessel with one purpose: to be ordered around. He had no feelings, no thoughts. He hadn't been allowed to. When Seimei had 'died' and given him to Ritsuka, Soubi had begun to develop his own personality. Ritsuka had made him realize that he was actually human, not just a weapon for someone to use and then dispose of.

"He was alright one moment," Soubi was afraid that if he spoke in anything louder than the soft voice he was using that Ritsuka would hear the weakness and hurt in it. "Then he suddenly hit me. I think…that was probably the hardest he ever hit me. He got up and started yelling. He shoved me into my bedroom and hit me a couple more times. He kept telling me that I had no place to tell him to leave. He called me things that I don't want to say in front of you and told me that I was a horrible artist. He yelled at me to shut up whenever I tried to explain myself, so I just stopped talking. He beat me up for a while, yelling nonstop and then got tired and stormed out.

"He whipped me a lot, especially at night. It was mainly just to remind me that I was his. I…I sometimes got aroused by it. I used to want him to give me his ears. Sometimes he tortured me sexually. He would bring me to the edge and then not let me release. He'd make me beg for him and then reject me. When I got aroused when he was whipping me…if I was lucky he'd just tell me to go home. Other times he would punish me by shoving the whip inside of me…"

"That's horrible!" Ritsuka exclaimed. Soubi nodded, thinking that he could still feel the pain of everything that Seimei had done to him.

"We battled a lot. Seimei was determined to be the top team. He took Kiyoshi's place on Septimal Moon and he started skimming money from them and stealing research grants. He started making more enemies and gaining supporters. He had me investigate and trail people. Eventually, he ordered me to take down or capture most of these people."

For the first time since sitting down, Soubi glanced over at Ritsuka to find him frowning. He leaned in, nuzzling the older man's neck. Soubi took comfort in his touch and took Ritsuka's face in his hands, brushing his lips against Ritsuka's full, soft ones. Soubi pulled away after only a moment, savoring the feel of those lips against his.

"I'll never do what he did to you," Ritsuka promised. "I'll never hurt you. Never."

Soubi took Ritsuka into his arms, pulling him into his lap. "Thank you," He said warmly. He picked the boy up, holding him bridal style. "Want to go back to the room?"

"Yeah…Soubi!" He yelped, squirming in Soubi's hold. "Put me down, Soubi! I can walk myself!"

"No," Soubi murmured, smiling deviously. "I want to carry you."

Ritsuka crossed his arms, pouting slightly. Soubi laughed, loving Ritsuka because he could make him so happy so easily. They were soon cuddled together in bed again, kissing goodnight and then falling asleep in each other's arms. Soubi didn't care what was going to happen next; all he wanted was to stay with Ritsuka.

* * *

**HFH FDHFDUIF FH 200 REVIEWS?**

**I didn't realize I was that close! THANK YOU ALL SO VERY MUCH! I LOVE YOU!**

**So, I wrote the end of this phase today. It was supposed to be in chapter 30 but I think I'll add another chapter so that I can break the 100 k mark. The next phase after this will start in Taken 2 which will be put up soon after I end this one. Trust me, it'll end with the bombshell that I've been dropping hints for since last chapter. I seriously don't think anybody will really expect it.**

**So, review and help me break 100 k!**

**~Wolfie  
**


	30. Day 042

**Day 042**

Ritsuka awoke in the middle of the night to Soubi whimpering and holding onto his shirt. He didn't know what had woken him in the first place. It had probably just been a particularly loud cry from Soubi. Whatever had woken him, he was glad that he had. Ritsuka was lying on his back with Soubi curled into his side, pressed close, his hand clutching Ritsuka's nightshirt tightly. Ritsuka suddenly felt horrible about making him talk about his past with Seimei. It obviously had given Soubi nightmares.

Ritsuka pressed his nose into Soubi's hair, pulling him into his arms. He hoped that his warmth would give Soubi some reassurance in his nightmares. Soubi cried out, a simple yell, loud in the darkness and silence in the room, and pushed himself closer.

Ritsuka wondered if he should wake him up. Soubi seemed to be suffering. Ritsuka didn't want him to be in pain, but he knew first-hand how terrifying it was to be woken up from a nightmare. Ritsuka couldn't decide whether or not to wake him up, so he just settled for stroking the older man's hair lovingly. It quieted Soubi down for a little while, and Ritsuka laid back, trying not to fall back asleep in case Soubi woke up or he started dreaming again.

This had only happened once before, before Ritsuka had gotten taken. Then, he hadn't been sure what to do, but he had tried to comfort Soubi then, too. Ritsuka understood now, though. Seimei had treated Soubi ten times worse than Ritsuka and he had taken it for more than two years. Of course he would have nightmares about it, especially after reliving it while talking to Ritsuka.

"Ritsuka…" Soubi was saying in a near-whisper.

Ritsuka jolted, unaware that Soubi had woken up. "Yes?" He asked curiously, not ceasing his soft touching.

"Ritsuka…Ritsuka…" Ritsuka sighed; Soubi was just sleep talking. "No…Ritsuka…" He whimpered again, this time louder. It was time to wake him up. If Ritsuka didn't now, Soubi would only get worse.

"Soubi," Ritsuka sat up, gently shaking his older friend awake. "Wake up, Soubi."

Soubi sat up suddenly, gasping and wide awake. Ritsuka touched his shoulder, alerting Soubi that he was behind him. The man jumped, startled by Ritsuka and immediately lunged towards the boy, pinning him flat on the bed before Ritsuka saw the spark of realization in his eyes. Soubi seemed to finally recognize the boy in bed with him and blinked, the cloudiness in his blue eyes clearing up. Ritsuka didn't move and waited for Soubi to unpin his arms and get off of him.

"S-sorry…" Soubi sat up on Ritsuka, freeing Ritsuka's arms from his tight hold. He lifted himself off of him, sitting beside Ritsuka, looking down. "I didn't mean to attack you like that."

"It's okay," Ritsuka rubbed his wrists, surprised at Soubi's strength. Maybe it had been wrong to wake him. Ritsuka had surprised him and Soubi's first instinct was to attack him. Soubi was obviously on high-alert because of something. "What's wrong?"

"Just a dream," Soubi dismissed, his tone giving off the feeling that he didn't want to talk about it. He moved his hand so that it was on top of Ritsuka's and sighed, closing his eyes.

"It wasn't _just_ a dream, Soubi," Ritsuka grasped his hand gently. "You were holding onto me and whimpering."

Soubi froze and didn't respond at first. "I'm sorry you had to see me like that," He finally said, still not looking at Ritsuka.

Ritsuka frowned, confused at why Soubi was sorry. He squeezed the man's hand, hoping to get his attention. When it didn't, Ritsuka climbed into his lap and looped his arms around his neck, pulling him into a tight hug. He pressed his face into Soubi's neck, breathing in his scent and desperately wanting to comfort his boyfriend.

"Sou… don't be sorry," Ritsuka clung onto him, feeling a bit strange to be using Kio's nickname for Soubi. "I don't think anything less of you."

Soubi's arms went around him, almost hesitantly. "…I'm weak, Ritsuka," He whispered.

_You're the strongest person I've ever met_. Soubi was never weak in Ritsuka's eyes. He never would be. He had always kept by Ritsuka's side no matter what the Sacrifice did to him. After two years with Seimei, Soubi was still sane and, better yet, _alive_. Plus, he was able to keep extremely calm and clear-headed under pressure in a battle.

"Having a nightmare makes you weak?" Ritsuka reasoned, pulling away to look into Soubi's beautiful blue eyes. "Because I have nightmares all the time."

"That's different," Soubi even sounded unsure of himself.

"How?" Seimei had messed Soubi up in so many ways. This was just one of them. Ritsuka wondered for a moment what Soubi would be like if he had never met Seimei or Ritsu. Sure, he'd still have his cold personality, but he'd think more of himself and he'd realize that he wasn't weak. But… Ritsuka hated to admit it, but if Soubi's life hadn't gone the way it had, he would've never met Ritsuka. Ritsuka's life would be miserable. He really couldn't see himself with anybody but Soubi.

"I…Ritsuka…" Soubi's hands gripped his shirt behind the boy's back.

Ritsuka put his head on Soubi's shoulder, "There's nothing wrong. Having dreams like that doesn't make you weak. Are you okay?"

Ritsuka could feel Soubi shudder and he made a pained sound. Ritsuka glanced up, concerned, to see a faraway, pained look on Soubi's face. "Just hold me like this until I fall back asleep," Soubi sounded a bit scared. He sat back, carefully so that Ritsuka didn't fall off his lap. "Please, Ritsuka."

Ritsuka smiled sadly, "You don't have to ask. I would've done it, anyways." He placed his head on Soubi's chest, listening to his quick heartbeat and waiting until it dropped to its normal pace before falling asleep holding onto Soubi.

* * *

"You two!" The next time Soubi woke up was early morning to Nagisa yelling at him and Ritsuka to wake up. Soubi opened his eyes, highly annoyed by the early intrusion. A glance at the window told Soubi that the sun was just coming up. He stretched, noting a significant pain in his neck and back from sleeping in such an odd position. He was still sitting against the head board, holding onto Ritsuka tightly. Ritsuka was in his lap, his head against Soubi's chest, fast asleep.

"What is it?" Soubi rubbed his eyes and placed his hand on the top of Ritsuka's head protectively.

"Ugh…Ritsu called us back for some reason," Nagisa complained, nodding at Seven, who stood beside her.

"We don't know why," Seven added. "He just said it was important."

Soubi rolled his eyes, remembering the phone calls he had gotten from Ritsu. He had ignored every one of them, thinking that if it was important, he would've called everybody, not just Soubi. Ritsu would probably do the same thing today, though Soubi was growing suspicious of what he wanted to say, especially now that Nagisa and Seven were leaving.

"We came to tell you two this," Nagisa continued, sticking her lip out in an annoyed pout. "But it doesn't look like he's awake."

"I'm not going to wake him," Soubi told her firmly. Ritsuka made a small sound in his sleep at Soubi's defensive tone and moved a little so that his head was farther up on Soubi's chest.

One thing Soubi was learning about Ritsuka was that he really liked to cuddle. Soubi didn't mind, since he liked it, too, but it surprised him that Ritsuka did. Ritsuka was stubborn and young. Usually a person like that was opposed to physical affection. Ritsuka was not, as Soubi had observed during his six days with him. He didn't hesitate to hold Soubi's hand in public or hug him around his father or any of the others. Ritsuka had been a bit embarrassed before confessing that he loved Soubi, but he was never opposed to it.

"We're going to leave, then," Seven glanced over at the door. "Ritsu said it was extremely important that we get there quickly." Nagisa nodded, looking anxious, and the two left without another word, leaving Soubi to wonder what Ritsu wanted.

Ritsuka was stirring, but Soubi gently laid him down in the bed so that he'd be more comfortable. He hoped Ritsuka wouldn't wake up. He needed his sleep and had been kept up by Soubi for a couple hours during the night. He felt bad about that. Soubi had been tormented during the night and Ritsuka had woke him up. He had attacked Ritsuka and pinned him to the bed in a state of surprise, since he hadn't realized it was him who had awaken him. Ritsuka continued to hold onto him during the night, and had kept the bad dreams away by doing so.

Ritsuka looked far more comfortable on the bed, as opposed to on Soubi's lap. He was unbearably cute when he was asleep, not to say that he wasn't, anyways. _I should take him out today_. The thought crossed Soubi's mind suddenly, and it seemed like a very good idea. They had never _officially_ been out on a date, and Soubi was sure Ritsuka would like to. Soubi smiled, getting up to plan something for the rest of the day.

* * *

Ritsuka knew Soubi was up to something once he stumbled out of the bedroom and found Soubi at the kitchen table arguing with Kio over something. He was fully dressed, his long hair looking damp as it clung to his back.

"Why the hell do you take advanced math classes when you're an art major?" Kio was arguing. Ritsuka breathed a sigh of relief. They weren't fighting or even arguing about anything important. It wasn't anything about Ritsuka or Seimei; it was simply what seemed to be a worn out argument about the classes they took at their university.

"What if I need to use it one day?" Soubi calmly replied, peering at his friend over the newspaper he was reading.

"Where are you going to use something like that? I've looked at the homework for that class. I can't understand a single bit of it. _That_ is why I won't do your homework."

"I never asked you to."

Ritsuka found their conversation almost laughable. The first thing that was odd was that neither one of them had noticed Ritsuka yet. The next was that Ritsuka had never known that Soubi took classes not having to do with art, even though it was also beyond him why.

Yawning and not wanting to interrupt their conversation, Ritsuka headed into the kitchenette for a glass of orange juice. He wanted Soubi to notice him, but he was also enjoying his and Kio's back and forth about homework. He reached up to get a glass out of the cupboard, making his t-shirt ride up. Ritsuka heard Soubi gasp and make a quiet sound as he fell silent in the middle of his sentence. Ritsuka turned completely red, realizing that he wasn't wearing anything besides Soubi's t-shirt. He grinned, knowing that he would never have to vie for Soubi's attention with anyone.

"You pervert!" Kio cried out, apparently following Soubi's eyes to Ritsuka's bare ass. Ritsuka grabbed a glass and turned around to face the two men, especially happy with Soubi's wide eyes and shocked expression. He wasn't even pretending to read the paper or drink the hot cup of coffee he was holding. Meanwhile, Kio was desperately trying to get him to listen to him again, "Soubi! Hey!" Kio reached over and whacked Soubi on the head with the rolled up magazine.

"I…uh…" Soubi started to speak, but never finished. Ritsuka laughed, finding it funny that Soubi was finally speechless and that he was the one to make him that way. "I…Good m…morning, Ritsuka."

"Good morning, Soubi," Ritsuka greeted. He watched Soubi jerk suddenly, probably realizing he was holding a scalding cup of coffee in his hand. "Don't burn yourself," Ritsuka told him as Soubi put the cup down a little too hard so that the liquid spilled over the rim.

"Too late for that," Kio said and Soubi cussed, examining his slightly burned hand.

"Ritsuka, can you get me a glass of cold water, please?"

Ritsuka sighed and walked over to him, grabbing him by the wrist and pulled him over to the sink. "This is going to hurt," Ritsuka glanced up at him and turned the faucet as cold as it could go.

"God dammit…" Soubi hissed, but keeping his hand under the water.

After a moment, Ritsuka shut off the water, got a towel from the drawer, and wrapped Soubi's hand in it. "Better?" Ritsuka asked hopefully. He knew how to care for burns because of his mother. He was happy to use this medical knowledge to care for Soubi, even if his burn was minor and he could very well do it himself. Soubi had more medical knowledge than he ever would, but he still let Ritsuka do it for him.

Ritsuka was reminded of the painful memory of his mother's death, but he pushed it out of his mind, not wanting to concentrate on that.

"Yes, thank you," Soubi leaned down, kissing Ritsuka on the head. Ritsuka found himself blushing again, since Kio was watching. "Do you want to go out today?"

Ritsuka looked into his eyes, surprised, "Like on a date?"

"Yes, Ritsuka. Do you want to go on a date?"

"Yes!" Ritsuka had never been on a date before. Soubi had taken him out before, but never on an official date.

Ritsuka caught a glimpse of Kio's shocked face as he rushed to the shower. He paused in the bedroom, hearing Soubi and Kio start to talk again.

"He's really a nice kid," That was Kio. Ritsuka remembered the way Kio had acted when they'd first met. He hadn't seemed to like Ritsuka much, but after spending time with him, the man had seen that Ritsuka wasn't like Seimei at all. "He really cares about you. He's a good kid."

"Yes he is," Soubi sounded farther away, and his voice was a bit distant, as if he was deep in thought.

"But he should wear pants more often."

"No, he shouldn't."

Later, Soubi led Ritsuka down the hall to the private elevator. Ritsuka pried him with questions on where they were going, but Soubi just kept smiling and telling him it was a secret. Ritsuka was excited; this meant that they were officially dating. They were still different from most couples, though, since they both knew that they were going to be together for years and years, if not forever. That thought sparked hope in Ritsuka. Maybe they could be together forever. They would kill Seimei and be able to live together in peace.

"Ritsuka," Soubi nudged Ritsuka lightly, getting his attention. Ritsuka glanced up at him, entranced again by his clear blue eyes. Soubi smiled at him, giving him one of those wonderful smiles that Ritsuka had fallen in love with. "We're here."

Ritsuka's eyes went wide, realizing Soubi had brought him to a very nice restaurant in the hotel. He suddenly knew why Soubi had dressed so nicely and why he had given Ritsuka one of his better shirts to wear. Ritsuka held onto his arm possessively as Soubi gave the woman at the counter his name and she seated them.

Ritsuka frowned, holding onto Soubi's arm tighter as the waitress flirted madly with him. She recognized him from the newscast and was openly saying how attractive she thought he was. Ritsuka didn't like it. This wasn't the first time somebody had flirted with Soubi. It happened a lot, even before Ritsuka had been taken. Both men and women did it, and this woman wasn't the worst who'd done it.

Soubi was ignoring most of her passes, but he was doing it kindly, not coldly as Ritsuka had expected him to. Finally the waitress left after taking their orders and realizing that Soubi wasn't in to her. Ritsuka sat in silence for a moment, debating on how to start the conversation he wanted to.

"I want to ask you a few questions," Ritsuka blurted out, not meaning to.

"Of course," Soubi responded calmly. They were in a more secluded area of the restaurant, away from prying eyes and nosy people who wanted to listen in on their conversation.

"About sex," Ritsuka told him, looking down out of embarrassment.

Soubi reached across the table and took Ritsuka's hand in his, rubbing it gently. "Go ahead."

"Are you gay?" Ritsuka demanded, flustered out of his mind. Seeing that woman flirt with Soubi shamelessly had brought on many questions. "Do you like women or men?"

"I like you," Soubi answered sincerely. "But if you want a real answer, I guess you could say I'm either bisexual or gay. I suppose I lean more towards men than women. I always thought you'd be disgusted by it."

Ritsuka shook his head, wondering about his own sexuality. He loved Soubi, another man. It seemed completely normal. Ritsuka had honestly never liked girls.

"Okay…then who-" Ritsuka was interrupted by that dammed female waitress again. She brought their food and immediately started flirting again.

In the middle of one of her stupid flirtatious jokes, Soubi suddenly grabbed Ritsuka's collar. As he was pulled towards the man, Ritsuka made a sound of surprise, only to be quickly silenced by Soubi's lips on his. Ritsuka turned his head to the side and closed his eyes, feeling Soubi trace his bottom lip with his tongue. He opened his mouth, letting his boyfriend take control. The woman shrieked and Soubi pressed his tongue against Ritsuka's one more time before pulling away to glare at the waitress. Ritsuka almost expected him to growl at her.

At last when she started to walk away, Soubi grinned at Ritsuka, "That was fun, wasn't it?"

Ritsuka couldn't help but to smirk back, "I can't believe you did that. You're insane."

"So I am."

Ritsuka laughed hard for a moment, unable to contain his amusement for the way Soubi had indirectly told her to leave them alone. "That wasn't very nice, either," Ritsuka told him after he calmed down a bit.

"I didn't _want_ to be nice to her," Soubi still had that proud smirk on his face. Ritsuka shook his head, knowing that Soubi had understood his distress at the woman flirting with him and had done something about it, even if it had been a bit extreme. "So, is that all you wanted to know?"

"No," Ritsuka felt embarrassed again, since he was about to ask Soubi an extremely personal question. "Who…who have you had sex with?"

"Don't be embarrassed, Ritsuka," Soubi's voice was kind, not mocking or making fun of him for the question. "As for your question, not many. Ritsu was the first. He was the only one during school and it was almost every night in the later years. Then, after I got into college, it was Kio, and now you."

"Kio?" Ritsuka repeated, astonished.

"Yes," Soubi sighed, his eyes flickering away for a moment. "We were nothing more than friends, though. He was the only one I ever had, even when I was young. He was the one who comforted me when Seimei hurt me. We had sex a lot, but it wasn't rough, like Ritsu. Surprisingly, Seimei never found out, but I think he suspected it."

Ritsuka thought this over for a moment, and then asked the one question that came to his mind, "How about after you met me?"

Soubi hesitated, but not for long. It was more of a thinking hesitation, rather than a I-don't-want-to-tell-you hesitation. "Once or twice, but that was _right_ after I met you."

Ritsuka was content with this answer, since Ritsuka had been especially cold right after they met. The rest of their date went well. Ritsuka dropped the topic of sex, settling for talking about finding an apartment. The waitress Ritsuka loathed never came back, instead a middle-aged man with a wedding ring was sent, making Ritsuka particularly satisfied.

"Come to bed, Soubi," Ritsuka was exhausted, but he didn't want to go to sleep without Soubi. The older man was sitting at the desk in the bedroom, leaning back in his chair, looking something up on Kio's laptop. Ritsuka was lying in the bed, propping himself up on his elbow. His eyes were half shut; he wanted to sleep, but he couldn't. After so many nights with him, Ritsuka found himself unable to sleep without Soubi's warmth beside him.

"I will in a minute," Soubi told him, holding something up to the light and examining it. Ritsuka peered at it, seeing the light reflect off of it.

"Soubi," Ritsuka's voice came out shaky. "Put that down." The locket. Ritsuka had torn it off of his neck and thrown it across the room in fury. Ritsuka recognized the thin golden chain, the heart shaped pendent, the broken clasp, and the sound it made when Soubi moved it. Ritsuka couldn't stand the sight of it.

Soubi turned towards him curiously, still holding the locket, "What's wrong, Ritsuka?"

Ritsuka darted under the covers, scared to death at the sight of the horrible locket Seimei had given him. He didn't know what was inside of it, he didn't want to. He just wanted it gone so that he didn't have to look at it and be reminded of Seimei ever again.

"Soubi," Ritsuka whimpered, still under the covers. "Throw it out." He hugged a pillow, just wanting to hold onto something. "Please. Burn it or something. I just never want to see it again." He felt the bed dip under Soubi's weight and he pulled down the covers so that they uncovered Ritsuka's head.

Wordlessly, Soubi took Ritsuka into his arms, pulling him into a tight hold. Ritsuka closed his eyes, feeling safe and loved in Soubi's arms. He wanted to stay like this, _just_ like this. It was how Ritsuka fell asleep, wishing for forever, and not knowing that everything was going to fall apart the next day.

* * *

**Yes, it's a filler chapter, I know, but it sort of sets up the next chapter.**

**The next chapter is the end of this story, but it will be continued in Taken 2**

**thanks for all the wonderful reviews! Keep it up! I hope you'll be surprised with the next chapter!**

**Oh, I have a new story up. It's called Revival. I encourage you all to take a look at it if you have the time, pleae!**

**Remember to review!**

**~Wolfie  
**


	31. Day 043

**Day 043**

Soubi was being pulled down the hallway, completely not knowing where the hell Ritsuka was taking him. He had convinced Soubi that it'd be safe and then had told him to get ready and bring his sketchbook. Though confused, Soubi had obliged, knowing that Ritsuka understood the dangers of going out in public.

"Ritsuka, where are we going?" Soubi asked for what seemed tenth time. Ritsuka just pulled him harder, leading him towards the open atrium. Soubi followed, curious to see where Ritsuka was taking him. They reached the main part of the floor and Ritsuka looked down over the railing, gasping.

Soubi glanced over the edge, too, finding the site breathtaking. The hotel was much bigger than he had thought, since they hadn't come through the lobby. The round lobby atrium was filled with real and fake plants, water ways, artificial waterfalls, and walk ways, making it seem like an indoor tropical garden.

"This way!" Ritsuka cried, yanking Soubi towards a large elevator. They pushed their way in, Ritsuka coaxing Soubi towards the back. A woman smiled at Soubi and flipped her hair, obviously recognizing him from the news. Soubi shot her a glare back, holding Ritsuka protectively against him. A little boy in the elevator began pointing at Ritsuka and speaking in a high voice to his mother and father. Soubi noticed Ritsuka staring at them almost sadly.

The boy shook his head slightly and turned to Soubi, taking his eyes off of the family. "I wanted to surprise you!" He smiled brightly, and Soubi couldn't see any signs of it being forced, even though his eyes did show a little sadness. It was understandable, since his mother had died, but he seemed to be dealing with it well.

"Can I at least know where we're going?" Soubi was being pulled out of the elevator by a very excited Ritsuka as soon as they reached the main floor.

"No!" Ritsuka told him as he bounded along ahead of Soubi. He held onto the man's hand tightly, their fingers intertwined for the world to see. Soubi didn't have a problem with it. In fact, he liked showing off their relationship, even if they got stares from many people.

"Almost there!" Ritsuka glanced back at Soubi, almost singing the words out. He didn't seem to notice all the people staring at them, either. Or maybe he was like Soubi and just didn't care.

"How do you know where you're going?" Soubi could get lost in this indoor jungle. Ritsuka led him over small streams, past little shops, in front of crowds, and through tangles of trees and exotic plant life. He seemed to know exactly where he was going. Soubi trusted him, not having the best sense of direction himself.

"I found a map while you were taking a shower earlier," Ritsuka informed him happily. "I studied it for a while so that I would know exactly where to go!" Ritsuka seemed quite happy, which made Soubi extremely curious to know where he was taking him. Soubi let him lead him through the large, confusing room and towards a wide, elegant hallway that branched off of the lobby. Ritsuka took him down to the end of the hallway and into a large convention center. Soubi recognized the type of convention almost immediately.

"An art convention…?" Soubi started, unsure of how to go on. Ritsuka dragged him further in the room, still smiling. "Why here, Ritsuka?"

Ritsuka turned to face him, his expression falling to one of confusion. "Whenever we used to go out…we always used to do things that _I_ like to do. I wanted to do something that you like to do, and I saw that an ad for this convention…and I thought of you."

Soubi pulled Ritsuka in for a hug, getting the attention of many people nearby. This was just another example of how caring Ritsuka was. He really did care about Soubi. The man hadn't doubted that Ritsuka loved him, but something like this showed his love.

"Let's go, then," Soubi took Ritsuka's hand again, leading him to one of the stands.

Ritsuka was glad that he had made Soubi happy. They were at an art convention together, something that seemed like an activity that a normal couple would do. Soubi held onto Ritsuka's hand, showing him around and talking to multiple people. Many of the people recognized him from the news, including some of the other artists. Some of them even asked to see his sketchbook, which was what Ritsuka had hoped for.

In Ritsuka's opinion, Soubi was better than almost every one of the artists at the show. Earlier, Ritsuka had woken before Soubi that morning and had found his sketchbook on the kitchen table. He had looked through it, figuring that it'd be okay with Soubi. He had found multiple realistic, detailed drawings of himself and a couple of butterflies before Soubi had caught him. The older man wasn't mad at all and instead had sat by Ritsuka and showed him the rest of the sketchbook drawings. He had said that he drew a lot while in the hospital. He showed Ritsuka the creature that had attacked him and told him more of the story about it, then showed Ritsuka the drawing of the girl it had become. He had also drawn a lot of the people around him, including Kiyoshi. There was even a drawing of Nagisa, who Soubi had said was his doctor during his hospitalization.

When Soubi's phone went off, it was when he had been talking to a very famous artist for a while. He glanced at Ritsuka before excusing himself to go answer it. The older man stared down at Ritsuka and Ritsuka sacredly met his gaze, glancing back to see Soubi ignore the call.

"So you're Aoyagi Ritsuka," The older artist stated, taking Ritsuka in with his eyes. A smile came across the gray-haired man's face and he patted Ritsuka's head, laughing warmheartedly. "Your friend Agatsuma-san is a very good artist, one of the only that had the courage to come up and talk to me and one of the best young artists that I've ever seen."

Ritsuka brightened up. He noticed that Soubi had left his sketchbook with the senior artist and he was flipping through it slowly, stopping at the first and far best drawing of Ritsuka. The teen blushed, as the guy looked up, comparing Ritsuka to the drawing. He could hear Soubi in the background talking on the phone to someone.

"I'm Anzai Kei," The man introduced himself, pushing up his glasses and bowing a little politely. "I'm very interested in Agatsuma-san's work. I see that he likes to draw those around him, especially you."

"I…I guess so," Ritsuka bit his lip, knowing that anything he said could make or break Soubi's career. He really didn't want to screw this up.

"I've seen him and your father in the papers and on TV. I never thought Agatsuma-san was an artist."

"I'm in my second year of college," Soubi stated, coming up behind Ritsuka and placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. Ritsuka breathed a sigh of relief, relaxing because he knew that he wouldn't screw up now. Soubi always knew the right things to say, anyways.

"You're an art student?" Kei repeated, sounding surprised. Soubi nodded and they talked for awhile longer until Soubi got another phone call, which he ignored and Kei asked for his phone number. Soubi gave it and asked Ritsuka if he'd like to go somewhere for dinner. Ritsuka answered yes and they left.

"Who was that on the phone at the convention?" Ritsuka questioned when they were both back in the room, a place that Ritsuka was starting to consider home. They were both on the couch, reading, Ritsuka lying against the armrest, his feet in Soubi's lap. They were both comfortable and happy with the day's events. Soubi had gotten five more calls and ignored four of them. He had answered the fifth one since it was Kei calling about opening a gallery in Tokyo nearby the area where Soubi and Ritsuka had lived before Seimei had his way with their homes. He had actually asked Soubi to participate in the gallery.

"Oh…" Soubi put his book down and frowned. "It was Ritsu. I called Kio right after. Ritsu called four other times, too. I wonder what he wants…"

"It doesn't matter," Ritsuka dismissed. _All that matters is that we're together_. "Besides, if he really needed something, he'd call all of us."

"You're right," Soubi concluded, leaning to the side so that he was close to Ritsuka's face. His blue eyes stared into Ritsuka's and the Sacrifice found himself getting lost in them again. "You know…" Soubi leaned in closer so that he was over Ritsuka completely, their bodies almost touching. "You got me a job today. I think you deserve more than just dinner, Ritsuka."

Ritsuka's body heated up at his tone of voice and suggestive words. He shivered, already shaking with anticipation without even being touched. Soubi kissed him, then, pressing himself down on top of Ritsuka. Ritsuka opened his mouth, allowing Soubi entrance without him even having to ask for it. Their tongues moved together and Ritsuka's hands found their way onto any part of skin he could reach.

Soubi broke the kiss when Ritsuka ran his hands down the man's strong arms. "Bedroom," He said, making it more of a statement than a suggestion. Ritsuka realized then that he was fairly uncomfortable being pressed into the couch like he was. It really bothered his back and hips.

"Yes," Ritsuka whispered, allowing himself to be pulled to his feet and led to the bedroom. As soon as Soubi had the door shut, Ritsuka was against it, lip-locked again with the taller male. Soubi pressed against him, his arms tightly around Ritsuka. They slowly made their way to the bed, stopping and starting back up with the kissing again and again before Soubi finally gently pushed Ritsuka onto the bed and got on top of him. Ritsuka pulled Soubi down again, wanting another chance to feel the older man's soft lips on his own.

A sudden ringing sound interrupted them both, making Soubi stop in his ministrations, sit up, and freeze.

* * *

Soubi had had a wonderful day with Ritsuka. An artist that he really looked up to had looked at his work and even offered him a job. Ritsuka had spent the rest of the day with him, the only downside being that for some reason Ritsu wouldn't stop calling. Soubi had just ignored him, though growing more and more agitated each time his former teacher called. He had debated just turning his phone off, but then he would risk not being able to be reached by Kiyoshi and the others.

And here they were now. Ritsuka and Soubi had been in a very intimate position with Soubi on top of Ritsuka and Ritsuka pulling him down to kiss him, when Soubi's phone had rung. Soubi froze and sat up, trying to decide what to do.

"Soubi," Ritsuka pleaded, rocking his hips upwards, pressing his growing erection against Soubi's leg. "No…Don't answer it. It's probably just something stupid, like you said."

"I know, I know," Soubi frowned, knowing that if he didn't answer Ritsu would never let up. It had already been two days. Usually, he would've let up with the constant calling by now. "If I don't answer now, he'll never stop."

The ringing stopped, then started again after a moment. Ritsuka was taking his own course of action and sat up a little so that he could work on undoing the buttons on Soubi's shirt.

Soubi hesitated and then pulled his phone out, checking that it was Ritsu before answering it. "What is it?" He growled, unhappy with being interrupted in his alone time with Ritsuka, especially when they had been getting intimate.

"Soubi-kun, thank god you finally answered…!" Soubi narrowed his eyes, confused at the tone he heard in Ritsu's voice. He'd never heard him sound so odd. The man on the other end breathed hard, in a panicky sort of way. "Please come back! You and all the others…! Soubi, Soubi…"

_What the hell is wrong with him…?_ Soubi had never heard Ritsu sound so desperate. Actually, he'd never heard him sound panicked, either. The man who had raised Soubi, the man who could keep extremely calm during even a level nine lockdown, was having a panic attack on the other end of the phone.

"Calm down-!" Soubi's advice was cut short by Ritsuka pulling him back on top of him and pressing their lips together.

"I can't calm down! You…you don't understand what happened!" Soubi's mind wasn't on the kiss anymore; it was on Ritsu's shaking, panicking, desperate voice. He was going into hysterics because of something. This couldn't be good. Something horrible had happened, something that could actually break Ritsu.

This was strange. Soubi had never seen or heard Ritsu like this. Nothing he had ever done had made Ritsu like this, not even when he had run away when he was fifteen. He had seen Ritsu mad as hell, but never panicked. Ritsu had never lost his control like this.

Ritsuka was nipping at Soubi's lips and trying to coax him into kissing back. Instead, Soubi pulled away, making Ritsuka whimper with disappointment. Soubi met his eyes and blinked, trying to convey that he was sorry. Ritsuka frowned and looped his arms around Soubi's neck, clinging onto him closely.

"Please, Ritsu, just calm down and tell me what the hell is wrong," Soubi tried, testing him a little.

"I can't calm down!" Ritsu yelled. It surprised Soubi that he had yelled, since he almost never did, but it shocked him even more that Ritsuka didn't call him out on cussing, not addressing him as Ritsu-Sensei, or telling him what he should do. "Soubi! Just come out here! I need you…I can't do this alone…"

"Tell me what happened!" Soubi demanded, starting to get anxious himself.

Ritsu breathed hard for awhile more, making so small sounds. Ritsuka pressed his lips to Soubi's for a quick kiss. He did it again after Soubi didn't protest and another few times after that. Soubi didn't say anything, waiting for Ritsu's reply.

When his reply did come, it was in a quiet, barely hearable trembling voice, "He blew up the school, Soubi."

Soubi abruptly pulled away from Ritsuka, making the small boy cry out unhappily. It was all coming down now. All hell was breaking loose. Seimei had let them have their time, and now he wanted Ritsuka back. How many of the students had he killed?

"He _what_?" Soubi was suddenly terrified. Seimei's plans were going into effect. He wasn't going to stop. There was no telling how much destruction Seimei would cause. He had been planning this for a long, long time. All the stolen money, the people that he had double-crossed, everything came down to this.

"All my students…they're dead…only about ten survived," Ritsu sounded weak and old and almost as if he was crying. The school and his students had been Ritsu and the rest of his family's life work. Places held onto Septimal Moon were passed down from generation to generation, meaning that Ritsu's family had held the place for far longer than anyone could remember. All the work Ritsu had put into his school had all been lost in an explosion caused by a seventeen year-old.

"Everything is gone now. Gone. Soubi…That's not the worst of it. Soubi… He's going to kill all of us. Everyone. Some of the world's governments have already fallen…"

Now Ritsu was seemingly just talking nonsense out of shock. It still worried Soubi. Ritsuka was staring up at him, looking confused. Soubi was still leaning over him, though completely absorbed in the shocking news. He didn't want to scare Ritsuka, though he wasn't going to lie or not tell him. There had to be at least five hundred students dead. Soubi didn't know exactly how many students had been attending.

"What are you talking about now?" Soubi was somehow able to keep his voice strong and unwavering.

"I…I thought you already knew…I tried to call you right after the school blew up…but something else happened just a couple of hours ago… Seimei has more people on his side than we ever thought. He has thousands. Soubi…Seimei declared war on everyone not on his side. It's complete mayhem out there. He's going to kill everyone. Please come back. I'm begging you. I need to tell everyone the Truth. Soubi… It's not just us; it's everyone he's declared war on."

* * *

**And there you have it!**

**I wanted to update so soon because I really was excited to put this up.  
**

**I've been planning this ever since I started writing this seriously. I had this idea pretty early, when I was trying to plan for the future of this fic. I hope I haven't disappointed anybody with this ending. There WILL be a sequel called Taken 2: War. That should show up in a week or two once I get a couple chapters of it written. I'm not really taking a break from it, it just won't be up right away.**

**So, 100 k. I. REACHED. 100. THOUSAND. WORDS. **

**I DID IT.**

**I am the only author in Loveless fanfiction to break 100 thousand. That's the length of a 350 page novel. Maybe someday I'll write an actual book. Maybe Probably not**

**I am also working on another story called Revival, which is also another Loveless fic. I'll try my hardest to balance the two, but it may be hard since Taken's main pairing is Soubi/Ritsuka (Soubi dominate) and Revival's pairing is Ritsuka/Soubi (Ritsuka dominate). If I can't balance the two, I'll put Revival on hiatus, so that I can work primarily on this. Hopefully, that won't happen, though. **

**Oh, by the way, this chapter ends the 'Soubi' part of Taken. The next part is cleverly called 'War' which will start in Taken 2.**

**So, go check out Revival and watch for Taken 2. **

**Thanks for all the reviews, guys! I love you all so very much! **

**Remember to review so that you can tell me what you think of this chapter!**

**~Wolfie**


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